NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — A ship bearing the name Amistad once again set sail for the Atlantic, tracing a 19th-century route of the slave trade.The Freedom Schooner Amistad<$>, a near-replica of the ship that sparked a slave revolt, left its home port here on a windy but sunny day for a 16-month, 14,000-mile voyage to Nova Scotia, Britain and Africa.

Hundreds of onlookers waved and cheered as the ship left the harbour after a ceremony featuring prayers, songs like “We are the World” by school children and shouts of “Amistad” and “Freedom.”

Crew and guests said they hoped to inspire the world with the schooner’s story of slaves who resisted captivity and later won their freedom.

“Now we’re taking the message of>Amistad, of the story of resistance and human rights and the unquenchable human spirit, to the world,” declared Capt. William Pinkney, who will sail for part of the voyage. “We believe that the Amista$>story is a landmark case in American history and deserves to be told and recognised,” said William Minter, chairman of the project.

In 1839, more than 50 African captives en route to Cuba on the Amistad schooner rebelled and took over the ship. After landing on Long Island, they were captured and jailed in New Haven.

With help from area abolitionists, the surviving Africans won their freedom in a historic legal battle that started in Connecticut and ended in the US Supreme Court. Former President John Quincy Adams represented the slaves.

Their story was depicted in the 1997 movie directed by Steven Spielberg.

Freedom SchoonAmistad, constructed at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, was launched in 2000. The ship has travelled around the country, but this is its first voyage tracing the slave route.

The new voyage will revisit the slave industry triangle with stops at nearly 20 Atlantic ports that played an important role in the trade.

Seven college students from Britain and the US are on board, learning the legacy of the slave trade.

Through live Web casts and e-mail correspondence with schools and museums around the world, the students are expected to share their experiences with millions of other students worldwide.

“It’s hugely exciting,” said Logan Senack, a 20-year-old University of Connecticut student. “We’re ready and we’re all very excited.”

Pinkney warned them that the ship does not have a plasma television, but does have showers and “a wonderful cook.”

After stopping in Nova Scotia, the Amistad will arrive in London in early August to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain.

The vessel will head to Liverpool for the opening of the International Slavery Museum and then travel to Portugal and Sierra Leone, the original West African homeland of many of Amistad captives.

The Amistad will return to the United States next year to commemorate the bicentenary of legislation to ban the importation of slaves. Actor John Amos, who starred in “Roots,” is filming the voyage for a documentary.“This is easily the most important thing I’ve ever been involved with in my life,” he said.