Lomboko was a slave factory in what is today

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, controlled by the infamous Spanish slave trader Pedro Blanco (slave trader), Pedro Blanco. It consisted of several large depots or

barracoon A barracoon (a corruption of Portuguese ''barracão'', an augmentative form of the Catalan loanword ''barraca'' ('hut') through Spanish ''barracón'') is a type of barracks used historically for the internment of slaves or criminals. In the Atl ...

s for slaves brought from the interior, as well as several palatial buildings for Blanco to house his wives, concubines, and employees. Lomboko was on several small islands at the mouth of the Gallinas River, near Sulima on the Gallinas coast. Spanish slave merchants controlled the area, within the British colony of Sierra Leone. By 1839, about 2,000 enslaved people a year were coming out of the Gallinas River, despite the slave trade being illegal. In 1849, an expedition of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

's slavery-fighting

West Africa Squadron The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventative Squadron, was a squadron of the British Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed in 1808 after the British Parliame ...

attacked Lomboko: the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

freed the slaves and then destroyed the fortress. The fortress plays a prominent part in the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

film '' Amistad''. In the movie, the main character

Joseph Cinqué Sengbe Pieh (18141879), also known as Joseph Cinqué or Cinquez and sometimes referred to mononymously as Cinqué, was a West African man of the Mende people who led a revolt of many Africans on the Spanish slave ship ''La Amistad'' in July 1839. ...

, as well as other slaves, were shown being captured and brought to Lomboko and treated cruelly. The slave liberation and destruction of the fortress is portrayed in the film's climax.

See also

References

Further reading