African Slaves Found Peace in Key West

K E Y  W E S T, Fla., Feb. 6 -- A small, unique piece of American historylies beneath a narrow strip of sandy beach not far from thisisland's hotels and nightlife.

It's the known resting place of nine Africans, and 286 othersare believed to be entombed along Higgs Beach on Key West's shore.

The dead were casualties of a trans-Atlantic trip aboard threeAmerican-owned slave ships intercepted by the U.S. Navy in 1860.The vessels were heading to Cuba to sell their 1,432 passengersinto labor.

Rescued from slavery, the Africans spent three months in KeyWest, being cared for by local doctors with supplies purchased bythe U.S. marshal and donated by an accepting citizenry. About 1,100survived, and were eventually sent back to Africa in a dangerousvoyage.

"They were brought here for refuge and became part of ourcommunity," said Norma Jean Sawyer, director of Key West'sAfrican-Bahamian Museum. "In Key West, they found some peace."

A Slave Shipwreck

The cemetery is just one attraction for tourists who findthemselves in Key West during February, which is black historymonth. There's also a permanent exhibit focusing on the HenriettaMarie shipwreck on display at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, inMallory Square just steps from famous Duval Street.

Excavated largely by the society, the Henrietta Marie, whichsank near Key West in 1701 after delivering slaves to Jamaica, isone of only a handful of slave shipwrecks in the Western Hemisphereever identified by name.

The slave trade had been declared illegal in the United Statesby the mid-19th century. But it still continued to places such asCuba and Brazil, financed illegally by American profiteers. Slavetraders were considered pirates and faced penalties of death ifcaught.

President Buchanan in 1859 ordered a blockade of Cuba with Navysteamers to intercept any American-owned slave ships.