The Critical Translation and Interpreting Stories of the Amistad Case

Résumé

This doctoral thesis entitled, "The Critical Translation and Interpreting Stories of the Amistad Case," unravels the role and impact of the interpreting and translation matters in the Amistad Case. Until now, academic and colloquial versions of the story have mentioned the intervention of a court interpreter (s) who enabled the African-Amistad-Mendi to testify in their defense in court. This researched revealed 13 interpreters involved in the case. The abolitionists who organized the recruitment for the linguistic mediator knew that this represented the critical strategy for a chance to win the trial in a socio-political context divided along pro-slavery and anti-slavery ideologies and policies. Nineteenth century courts lacked a judicial mandate to provide linguistic rights for LEPs. This dissertation investigates how IT matters responded to the political and racial background shaping the development of the Amistad story applying a Critical Race Theory lens.