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The coastwise slave trade existed along the eastern coastal areas of North America. Shiploads and boatloads of slaves were transported from place to place on the waterways that exist there. Hundreds of vessels of various sizes and capacities were employed in the transporting of slaves from place to place. The famous Creole case began with a slave rebellion on board a ship that was transporting 135 slaves coastwise.

A similar slave rebellion occurred on board the Amistad in 1839, on the high seas.

Legal rights

Prior to 1807, the 1787 U.S. Constitution and the 1793 Fugitive Slave Law were the lone laws on slavery that applied nationally. Other laws on slavery applied only to the State which had enacted them. The multi-faceted 1807 Act of Congress which abolished the importation of slaves from Africa led to the creation of the blockade of Africa. The Act also regulated the coastwise slave trade, hence, it imparted legal rights to those slave traders who utilized the coastwise shipping of slaves in their business.

Greater list of laws and court rulings

The most important United States laws: statutory laws and case laws on slavery, were these, in the order of their enactment:

1787: The U.S. Constitution

1793: The Fugitive Slave Law

1807: The Congressional Act banning the importation of slaves

1850: The Fugitive Slave Law

1853: The Dred Scott ruling, US Supreme Court

1865: The 13th Constitutional Amendment

Often, other subsequent national laws on slavery cited either the U.S. Constitution or the 1807 Act of Congress.

Cabotage

The act of sailing along a coast and using landmarks for guidance is called cabotage, from the French word caboter, ("to coast," "go from cape to cape"). When slaves were the merchandise being transported by cabotage, the practice was called the coastwise slave trade.