Amistad tour ship arrives in UK

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A replica of the 19th Century slave ship, Amistad, has docked in a Cornish port as part of a 16-month tour around the world.

The ship's Amistad Atlantic Freedom Tour will cover 22,500km (14,000 mile) retracing the route of the slave trade.

In 1839, 53 slaves mutinied on board the ship and were captured, but won freedom in a historic legal battle.

The replica ship left the US on 21 June. It is stopping in Falmouth for three days before heading to Liverpool.

It will sail to Liverpool for the opening of the International Slavery Museum and be steered in to dock by former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

The ship will go on to visit Bristol and London before resuming the tour, stopping at Portugal, Senegal, Sierra Leone, the Caribbean and the US.

Its arrival in the UK commemorates the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade within the British Empire.

Student crew

The ship's captain, Eliza Garfield, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, US said the transatlantic voyage had gone very smoothly.

"We had no problems," she said. "Coming into Falmouth today was beautiful.

"The green farm land and the beautiful classic boats that were here to greet us - it was a wonderful welcome."

The schooner's crew have been joined by 10 students from the US and UK, who will communicate with schools and museums around the world by e-mail and through web-casts.

The voyage retraces the slave trade "triangle", which saw European traders export manufactured goods to West Africa, where they would be exchanged for slaves from African merchants.

The slaves were then transported across the Atlantic and sold for huge profits in the Americas.

The story was depicted in the film Amistad directed by Steven Spielberg in 1997.