This is a fascinating case-study in how translation and interpreting shape macro and microhistories. The book is a clarion call to understand power, agency, and human rights as radically dependent on language and linguistic mediation.

Hilary Footitt, Professor, Institute of Languages, Cultures, and Societies, University of London, UK

Zaragoza-De León leaves no stone unturned in her exploration of the Amistad trials, taking the reader by the hand to uncover information which has changed the course of history, as well as the lives of hundreds of people. If you want to know more about the influence of interpretation and translation throughout history, Interpreting the Amistad Trials is the book for you.

Claudia V. Angelelli, Professor and Chair in Multilingualism and Communication, Heriot-Watt University, UK

Zaragoza-De León's recovery of the archival record and careful examination of the role of interpreters in the Amistad case elucidates the legal processes, imperial conflict, and impact of language understanding through interpreting the cultural history of memory and violent erasures of racialized trauma. This book is an invitation to rethink the relationship between dominance, the law, and the pivotal role of language in the transoceanic history of African slavery.

Santa Arias, Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Arizona, USA