‘Descendant’ Ending, Explained: What Happened to the Clotilda?

Welcome to the Ending Explained for Descendant, a new documentary that Netflix is releasing this week. The documentary focuses on a small community in Alabama, better known as African Town. The town’s inhabitants are the direct descendants of the slaves who come aboard a ship called, The Clotilda. This ship is the last known slaver ship to make land in the United States of America. This very fact defines most of the inhabitants’ identity, as even today, they keep fighting for their survival.

The documentary’s subject is quite interesting, at least regarding historic events. The documentary divides its attention between this and the emotional significance of this finding to the community. That last angle is not as well expressed in the final film and lacks the context to grab audiences that are not as close to the subject as the town itself. The documentary could have chosen a more straightforward mystery to explore, surrounding the last resting place of the ship, but chose a more human side to the story.

The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Descendant. Read at your own risk.

What Happened To The Clotilda?

The central mystery of the documentary has to do with the fate of The Clotilda. This slave ship served the industry for many years, transporting enslaved people from Africa to America. The ship’s last years of service passed as it served as a bootleg slaver ship. This means that by the time the ship made shore for the last time in the United States, slavery was still a thing. However, transporting new slaves from Africa was forbidden, and if caught, all the responsible ones would be given capital punishment.

In other words, by 1860, the slavery industry was still booming, and yet, the transporting of enslaved people from Africa to America was illegal. The Clotilda made its last transport services in 1860, and from there came different reports as to what happened to it. The different reports told a similar story. One was where the ship’s crew took out its cargo of enslaved people, and then it was burned along the drives. However, officials told different stories that the ship could not be found and qualified as a slaver ship. If that happened, they would be arrested and punished for it.

And so, the ship’s fate was a mystery for many years. The people at African Town are direct descendants of those on board the ship, and many feel that finding the ship or what remains of it can help them feel more complete as people. Many people worldwide come to help search until it is finally found. The entire town celebrates the finding as a victory and a way to be connected to their ancestors. Nevertheless, the documentary presents the ship’s discovery as a band-aid for a bigger problem.

What Is Happening To The People Of African Town?

The bigger problem the people of African Town are suffering from is that in the surrounding area, there are many factories that are polluting the land, the water, and the air. This contamination has caused many of the town’s people to suffer from cancer and other kinds of illnesses. To make matters worse, the land where these factories are built belongs to a family whose legacy is the slave trade. This means that while the people of African Town are free, they are still suffering at the hands of the same family hundreds of years later.

The finding of the ship means that the river and the surrounding area could be declared a cultural site, and the factories would need to stop working there as a way to protect the area from pollution. Now that the ship has been found, there is a need for other procedures to be taken into account. There is now a possibility that the people can sweep clean their land of the chemicals these factories use.

The people, for now, are trying to take things one step at a time. They are teaching the next generation to take care of the land and of each other. Many people also bring the concept of reparations into the situation, but it gets complicated, as one person points out. Are reparations just money to be given to black people for the crimes committed against their race? For some, these would not be enough. It is a sad situation because it seems that no matter what happens, the people of African Town will always be stuck in their ways, and they might get stuck in the past, even when the world moves forward.