THE AMISTAD freedom schooner is already here, six days earlier than expected.

The Barbados Tourism Authority's (BTA) director of marketing services, Averil Byer, said this historic ship arrived last Saturday evening, thanks to the favourable high winds.

It is now anchored at a "secret location" and will be escorted by flotilla to Fort Willoughby for the welcoming ceremony around 7 a.m. tomorrow.

The ship's captain, Eliza Garfield, spoke yesterday about why Barbados was chosen as a stop-over point for the legendary cargo ship during its route that follows that of the slave trade triangle.

She noted that the island was "one of the more frightening places of the slave history of the British Empire . . . . but also, in all of the British Empire, it was the first to abolish the slave trade".

Theme of the voyage is The Atlantic Freedom Tour, which is part of the 200th anniversary celebration of the abolition of slavery.

The Amistad story dates back to 1839 when 53 Africans were kidnapped from West Africa and sold into the transatlantic slave trade, with 49 of them being sold illegally to Spaniards in Cuba.

They were transferred to La Amistad for transport but the Africans seized the ship and killed the captain and cook.

They were captured and jailed by Americans but former President John Quincy successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court on their behalf and the 35 surviving Africans were returned to Africa.

Members of the public can tour the historic schooner on April 6, 8-11, 13, 15 and 16 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from noon on Sundays. (TM)