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The Creole Case, William Joseph Poole Jr.

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

On November 7, 1841, the slaves on board the American brig Creole bound from Richmond, Virginia, to New Orleans, rose in revolt and forced the crew to sail the vessel to the British port of Nassau in the Bahamas. There the authorities imprisoned 19 of those involved in the mutiny but freed the remaining blacks. Later, after receiving instructions from London, the 19 mutineers were also liberated despite the angry protests of southerners in the United States.

The Creole incident became the subject of acrimonious debate in both houses of Congress and resulted in the breaking of the "gag" rule: …