"The United States had banned the transatlantic slave trade in 1808, but this did not stop slave traders from continuing it illegally. In 1860, Captain William Foster of the Clotilda arrived in the West African region of modern-day Benin, purchased 110 people from the King of Dahomey, and smuggled them into Mobile Bay, Alabama, seven weeks later. He then burned the ship in the river off Twelve Mile Island to destroy all evidence"
"It began with a bet in 1859 and would end in a burning in 1860, but, for the 110 African men, women, and children who had been illegally smuggled into the United States aboard the Clotilda, the flames that engulfed it were only the beginning of their new lives as slaves. The story of the schooner Clotilda, the last ship to transport slaves from Africa to North America,"
A bet in 1859 led to a voyage that ended with the burning of the Clotilda in 1860. The Clotilda illegally transported 110 African men, women, and children from the West African region of modern-day Benin after Captain William Foster purchased them from the King of Dahomey. The ship arrived in Mobile Bay, Alabama, seven weeks later and was set aflame off Twelve Mile Island to destroy evidence. The wealthy slaveowner Timothy Meaher avoided prosecution and was celebrated locally for defying federal law. The Clotilda survivors established Africatown, Alabama, and their descendants continue to live there. The episode symbolizes Southern resistance that helped precipitate the Civil War.
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