From the Latin quinque, Cinque carries the meaning of "five" in Italian.

Joseph Cinqué (c. 1814 – c. 1879), formerly known as Sengbe Pieh, was a West African man of the Mende people who led a revolt of fellow slaves on the Spanish slave ship, La Amistad. After the ship was taken into custody by the United States Coast Guard, Cinqué and his fellow slaves were eventually tried for killing officers on the ship, in a case known as United States v. The Amistad. This reached the US Supreme Court, where Cinqué and his fellows were found to have rightfully defended themselves from being enslaved through the illegal Atlantic slave trade and were freed. Americans helped raise money for their return to Africa.