The Amistad Supreme Court of the United States, 1841. Facts: Spanish subjects Ruiz and Montez were in possession of a group of native Africans that had been illegally kidnapped and brought to Cuba against the laws of Spain at the time. While the Africans were being transported by boat from one part of Cuba to another, they were able to commandeer the ship in an attempt to sail it back to Africa. The boat, and the Africans, ended up off the coast of Long Island where they were taken into custody by the U.S. Navy. Ruiz and Montez sued in order to receive possession of the ship, its cargo, and the group of Africans, pursuant to a treaty between the United States and Spain that called for either nation to give back “merchandise” that was retrieved upon the open waters from pirates. Procedural History: District court denied the Spanish men’s request, affirmed at the Circuit Court level. Issue: Were the Africans “merchandise” within the meaning of the statute, and if so, were the Spanish men the “true proprietors” within the meaning of the statute? Holding: No, judgment affirmed. Reasoning: The court held that because the Spanish men had broken Spanish law when they kidnapped the Africans and brought them to the Americas, the African men were not merchandise and the Spanish men were not their proprietors.