In 1860, a ship called the Clotilda arrived in Mobile Bay, Alabama. It carried more than 100 kidnapped men, women, and children from Africa. These people were brought to Alabama to be sold into slavery and forced to work without pay.
At the time, it was against the law to bring enslaved people from Africa to the United States. The U.S. had made a law in 1808 that said no more ships could bring people from Africa. But even though it was illegal, some people in Alabama wanted more enslaved workers to make money. A man named Timothy Meaher helped plan the Clotilda’s secret trip. He and others wanted to expand slavery in Alabama by bringing in more people to work.
The kidnapped people were from West Africa. After they arrived, they were sold and forced to work on farms and in other hard jobs without pay. Even though they were enslaved, they kept their language, stories, and traditions alive as much as they could.
When the Civil War ended and slavery was made illegal, the people from the Clotilda were freed. Many of them stayed near Mobile and built a new community called Africatown. This became a place where they could live together, help each other, and keep their African culture strong.
For many years, people told the story of the Clotilda, but the ship was lost. In 2019, the remains of the Clotilda were found near Mobile. This discovery proved the story was true and helped people learn more about Alabama’s history.
The Clotilda is important because it was the last slave ship to bring kidnapped Africans to the United States. It shows how some people tried to keep slavery going even when it was illegal. It also shows the strength and bravery of the people who survived and worked to build a new life in Alabama.