The Enterprise was a United States merchant vessel[1] active in the coastwise slave trade in the early 19th century along the Atlantic Coast.
[2] Bermuda customs officers called a gunboat and Royal Navy forces to detain the Enterprise ship, and a Bermudian ex-slave Richard Tucker served the white captain with a writ of habeas corpus, ordering him to deliver the slaves to the Bermuda Supreme Court so they could speak as to their choice of gaining freedom in the colony or returning with the ship to slavery in the United States.
The United States in its legislation preserved the right to operate ships for its domestic coastwise slave trade among various markets along the East and Gulf coasts, which became increasingly important as the Deep South rapidly developed cotton cultivation.
With labor demand at a height, in the antebellum years, nearly a million enslaved African Americans were moved to the Deep South in a forced migration, two-thirds through the domestic slave trade.
[2] In February 1835, seven days out on a voyage between Alexandria, Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina, the American brig Enterprise was driven off-course by a hurricane and forced to put in for provisions at Hamilton, Bermuda, a British colony.
[2] Alexandria and Washington, DC comprised a major market for slaves from the Chesapeake Bay area, of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, being sold and shipped to the Deep South.
[6] The customs officials told Captain Smith that the slaves were illegal in Bermuda and subject to forfeiture; they ordered him to bring them ashore.
Richard Tucker intervened; he was the Bermudian founder in 1832 of the local black Young Men's Friendly Lodge (a mutual aid group).
While the US and Britain worked to suppress the international slave trade from Africa, the US wanted to protect its domestic slavers if weather or accidents drove them into British colonial ports.
After 19 slaves took control of the crew of the Creole, they ordered the ship sailed to Nassau, Bahamas; one of the leaders had heard of the Hermosa case the year before and knew the British had abolished slavery.
[14][15] For several years following signing of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, the United States had no complaints against Britain related to emancipating slaves from American ships at Caribbean ports.
[16] But, even if officials could be instructed to turn a blind eye, the residents of British colonies (many of whom had formerly been enslaved) sometimes took direct action to free American slaves.
[16] On 20 July 1855, the New York Times reported that an American slave had been removed in late June by Jamaicans from the brig Young America at Savanna-la-Mar, Jamaica and "set at large".
The Consul had written to the Collector of the Port of Norfolk, Virginia, advising shipmasters to avoid bringing black crew to Jamaica, because of their high rate of desertion at the island.
He noted that it was difficult to recover deserters because of strong local opposition to slavery, as well as the US and Great Britain lacking any treaty applying to their recovery.
[17] "In the mean time, I can engage that instructions shall be given to the governors of her Majesty’s colonies on the southern borders of the United States to execute their own laws with careful attention to the wish of their government to maintain good neighbourhood, and that there shall be no officious interference with American vessels driven by accident or violence into those ports.
ROGERS of Baltimore, arrived at Savannah-la-Mar, when the black cook or steward, being desirous of getting rid of that vessel, and the master not wishing to let him go, a band of half-savage negroes went on board and took him out by force, and insulted the captain in the most shameful manner, while the magistrates looked on and countenanced the atrocious act....You would greatly oblige me if you would be pleased to caution masters of vessels against shipping negroes to come to any port in this island, as they are sure to have trouble."