#zong

J.M.W. Turner took up a serious incident in 1840 and expressed it in a painting. The incident was the so-called Zong Affair, which changed the attitude towards the British slave trade.

The Slave Ship, by J.M.W. Turner, 1840 (x) 

The Zong was until 1777 a Dutch slaver under the name Zorg and after her carpering she belonged to William Gregson and George Case, two well known merchants in the city of Liverpool and former mayors of the city. She sailed from the west coast of Africa on September 6, 1781 with 442 Africans bought as slaves on board, which made the ship completely overloaded and so she did not have sufficient supplies for such a large number of slaves. The poor people were chained in pairs, right leg and left leg, right hand and left hand, each of them having less space than a man in a coffin. The journey took nearly two months, and during that time most of the slaves were malnourished and suffering from disease. Captain Collingwood had lost his way in the Caribbean, which further prolonged the voyage. 60 slaves and 7 crew members had already died, and Collingwood knew that those who survived in poor condition would not fetch a high price on the slave market. He decided to use the lack of fresh water as an excuse to note that his "crew was endangered" to justify throwing 133 living slaves overboard. A reason that had a sinister background.

55 more were thrown overboard on November 29, and another 42 on November 30. A heavy rainstorm the following day provided fresh water, but another 26 slaves were thrown overboard that day, and another 10 jumped in to defy the captain, hugging each other as they sank. It was later claimed that the slaves were thrown overboard for the safety of the ship, as the ship did not have enough water to keep them alive for the rest of the voyage. This claim was later refuted as the ship still had 420 gallons (1910 liters) of water when it arrived in Jamaica on December 22. Let's move on to the reason why Captain Collingwood threw the people overboard alive. Behind it was an insurance policy. Because if a slave died on board, the insurers would not pay, seeing this as "poor cargo management." They would only pay the full sum insured if a slave went overboard alive. The owners demanded £30 per head from the insurers, which was disputed. The owners' lawyer argued, "These people are not charged with murder at all, there is not the slightest allegation”. After the insurers appealed, Lord Chief Justice Manfield upheld the shipowners: "The question left to the jury was whether it was necessary that the slaves should be thrown into the sea, for they had no doubt that the case of the slaves was the same as if horses had been thrown overboard." This ruling that removal was lawful led to a significant turning point in abolitionist campaigns.

THE ZONG MASSACRE : THE UNFORGETTABLE 1781 INCIDENT WHICH SAW 133 SLAVES THROWN INTO THE ATLANTIC On November 29, December 1 and other days later in 1781, 85 Ghanaian men, women and children were thrown overboard The Zong, a slave ship that was due to arrive in Jamaica. In protest, 10 more slaves jumped into the sea. In total, 142 slaves lost their lives due to the massacre. 62 Africans died previously due to malnutrition and disease.The Zong was originally named Zorg, a Dutch word which ironically translates to “Care” in English.

The slave ship was owned by the Middelburgsche Commercie Compagnie; based in Middleburg, Netherlands. In 1777, the ship made a voyage to Suriname, South America. After being seized by the British, on February 26, The Zong arrived in Cape Coast, Ghana.In 1781, the ship was acquired by an individual described as Master of William. As a way to curtail financial responsibility as dead slaves were considered to be of no worth, surgeons boarded the ship to examine the fitness of slaves. Rejected slaves were killed by African handlers upon orders.As the ship sailed from Africa, it was equipped with a 17-member crew, which was a precursor for the ensuing trouble ahead.On August 18, 1781, the ship left Ghana with 442 slaves. The number of slaves was far more than the ship could handle.

On September 6, after stopping at Sao Tome to restock for water, the crew headed onto the Atlantic Ocean to Jamaica. On November 18 or 19, the ship was due for another refill of water, but crew members did not stop to fill the boat.On November 27 or 28, crew members mistook Jamaica for Saint Domingue, Hispaniola. Leaving Jamaica, the crew realized their mistake after sailing for 300 nautical miles. At that point, there were only four days’ worth of water left on the ship. Heading back to the Caribbean island would take 10-13 days.If slaves died on the ship, ship workers would not receive redress from insurers. If the slaves died of “natural causes” no payout would be issued. If the slaves were thrown from the ship in an attempt to “save other ship members and property”, a loss could be claimed with insurers. Insurance covered what would equate to $39.50 dollars per slave.The crew members decided to throw nearly half of the slaves into the ocean and claimed that jettison of the slaves was necessary due to lack of water. The ship arrived in Jamaica on December 22 – with 420 imperial gallons of water aboard.

There were 208 slaves aboard The Zong when it arrived in Black River, Jamaica. The average cost of each slave was $47.40.Ownership of the ship remained with the British and it was renamed Richard of Jamaica.Ship owners claimed compensation but were denied monies by the insurers. The logbook aboard the newly christened Richard of Jamaica was lost – it contained proof of the massacre.A court case ensued at the Guildhall in London on March 6, 1783. The judge – Earl of Mansfield, presided over the case. He also oversaw the Somerset Case in 1772. A jury ruled in favor of the slave owners in The Zong case.An appeal was made and another trial was held on May 21 and 22, 1783. It was determined that the crew members aboard The Zong were liable. It was also revealed that after the second batch of slaves were killed, heavy rain fell and another group of slaves were killed after the rain stopped. No crew member aboard The Zong was ever held liable for killing the slaves.

The lights are off now, it’s my time to go

Put on my hat now, don’t worry, the boss knows

Let’s see the list now, and figure out what to do…

I water the plants, all one hundred pots,

Empty the trash, sweep, can’t miss a single spot

Sure it’s hard work, but, the job is so dear to me…

When the darkness, brings intruders,

And there’s nobody left to defend

That’s when I come and shout,

I scare them away, scare them away,

It’s near closing so, I finish my time,

The place looks nice, plus, it’s polished and shiny

I put my hat up, and finally say good day…

Have a good day!

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