The Clotilda

The Clotilda was a ship built in 1855 specifically to illegally transport enslaved Africans to the United States after slavery was officially abolished. It smuggled 110 enslaved people from West Africa to Alabama, long after slavery ended, to continue forced labor. The ship was intentionally hidden and its existence was kept secret. Decades later, in 2019, the wreck was discovered in the Mobile River, providing historical evidence of this clandestine transportation. The Clotilda’s story highlights the brutal, illegal efforts to preserve slavery and the resilience of enslaved Africans.