Amistad (1997) - 15 mistakes

Factual error: The Portuguese slave ship Tecora was one of the most notorious of the illegal slave ships, but no slaves were thrown overboard in mid-ocean as shown in the film - at least on the trip in question. The Portuguese were pros at the slave trade and had plenty of food on board to feed their "cargo" between Sierra Leone and Cuba.  The only time a slave would be thrown overboard in mid-ocean was if his/her health posed a serious risk to the crew and "cargo".  (Slaves were too valuable to just throw away for the price of their food.)  Historically, though, there were instances where whole cargoes of slaves were tossed overboard.  The British Royal Navy zealously patrolled the waters off West Africa to try to shut down the slave trade.  If a British ship was sighted, the slavers sometimes tossed slaves overboard to destroy the evidence and prevent the seizure of the ship.

Visible crew/equipment: When the President of U.S. is talking to his Secretary of State in order to replace the judge, the boom mic is visible at the top of the screen for the whole scene.

Factual error: Cinque is shown in the first scene of the film ripping a nail (to pick his shackles) from the lower deck of Amistad with his bare and bloody fingers during a storm.  In fact, Cinque was topside one day, and simply stooped down to pick up a piece of metal he saw to use as a pick. (Not quite as dramatic, but true.)

Factual error: Roger Baldwin was not a young, inexperienced "ambulance-chaser-type" lawyer.   He was about 50 years old and very highly respected. A few years after the Amistad case, Baldwin was elected governor of the State of Connecticut.

Continuity: When the Amistad is captured by the American naval vessel, and Cinque jumps out of the dinghy to swim for it, the frontal shot of his face with the pursuing boat behind him shows the sun overhead, at midday or morning, towards viewers' left. When the shot changes to behind him (chaser's view), the sun is dead in front of him and setting.

Factual error: The film shows the slave depot at Lomboko destroyed by the Royal Navy after the Amistad trial. In fact, it was destroyed in 1839, shortly after Cinque was exported from there and long before the Amistad trial began in 1840.

Factual error: The scene where the defense team walks on the docks, counting out loud in Mende, in the hope of discovering an interpreter, actually happened - but it was professor Gibbs who did this himself, not Roger Baldwin.

Factual error: When President Van Buren enters the room at one point, "Hail to the Chief" is being played by the band. Although the song existed as early as 1812, it was not used ceremonially for the President until the 1840s.

Factual error: No presidential candidate campaigned in person until William Jennings Bryan was nominated the Democratic candidate in 1896. Before Bryan, it was the practice that candidates campaign only in their hometown (candidates are to "stand" for office, not "run" for office) while their supporters campaign for them nation-wide.

Factual error: Until the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling, Cinque spent every day of his life in America locked up. He was not present for the Supreme Court's oral argument.

Audio problem: When Baldwin writes to John Quincy Adams begging for help, Adams crumples up the letter and drops it to the floor. As it comes to rest, you can see the word "threatened" written above the words "need you". But in the voice-over reading the letter out loud, the word "threatened" is never spoken.

Factual error: Cinque never met John Quincy Adams at his home and never had a discussion about African violets. African violets are native to East Africa, not Sierra Leone in the west. Cinque probably never saw an African violet in his entire life.

Factual error: At the end of the first trial when the judge said that the Africans are free, he also ordered the immediate arrest of Luis and Montez. According to historical records, they were not even in the country, much less present at the court proceedings. In fact, the Africans had already had them arrested on charges of assault and kidnap. They both paid bail and went back to Cuba.

Factual error: The Royal Navy has never used the rank of ensign, and even if it had it is highly unlikely that a freed slave would have been granted the rank.

Continuity: The lettering on Amistad's dinghy changes, from all capitals when the Africans come ashore, to upper and lower case when they return to the ship.