Don Pedro Montes (1781-) was a Cuban businessman and plantation owner who was one of the parties to the Amistad incident in 1839.
Biography[]
Don Pedro Montes was born in Cuba in 1781, and he became a wealthy plantation owner and businessman. In 1839, he bought four African children, including three girls, as slaves for his plantation, and they were to be transported to Cuba on the Amistad. He rode aboard the Amistad as it headed from Havana to his plantation at Puerto Principe, but, on 1 July 1839, the slaves rebelled. Montes was wounded by the slaves, but the slaves decided to spare him and have him pilot the ship back to Africa; he instead piloted the ship west. The ship was intercepted off Long Island, and Montes and Don Jose Ruiz attempted to claim the slaves as their property. However, their claims were discredited due to the illegality of the slave trade.