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The Zong

A Massacre, the Law and the End of Slavery
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
On 29 November 1781, the crew of the British slave ship Zong threw overboard 132 enslaved Africans, fearing a shortage of drinking water. Historian James Walvin examines this horrendous act, the resulting insurance lawsuit, and the significant impact the case had on Britain's abolition movement. The book provides a detailed exploration of the Zong voyage, its trial viewed as an insurance claim rather than a murder case, and how this event shaped public debate about slavery and its ultimate abolition.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in history, particularly those focused on the transatlantic slave trade, abolition movements, and maritime history. It suits scholars, students, and anyone seeking a profound understanding of the moral and political background of slavery and its eventual demise.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The first full review of the mass murder by crew members on the slave ship Zong and the lasting repercussions of this horrifying event.

On November 29, 1781, Captain Collingwood of the British ship Zong commanded his crew to throw overboard one-third of his cargo: a shipment of Africans bound for slavery in America. The captain believed his ship was off course, and he feared there was not enough drinking water to last until landfall. This book is the first to examine in detail the deplorable killings on the Zong, the lawsuit that ensued, how the murder of 132 slaves affected debates about slavery, and the way we remember the infamous Zong today.

Historian James Walvin explores all aspects of the Zong’s voyage and the subsequent trialβ€”a case brought to court not for the murder of the slaves but as a suit against the insurers who denied the owners’ claim that their β€œcargo” had been necessarily jettisoned. The scandalous case prompted wide debate and fueled Britain’s awakening abolition movement. Without the episode of the Zong, Walvin contends, the process of ending the slave trade would have taken an entirely different moral and political trajectory. He concludes with a fascinating discussion of how the case of the Zong, though unique in the history of slave ships, has come to be understood as typical of life on all such ships.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

David Richardson, co-author of Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, praises the book for situating the Zong tragedy within the broader context of the British slave trade and abolition efforts, calling it 'Walvin at his best.' Gad Heuman, co-editor of The Routledge History of Slavery, describes it as 'a lucid, fluent and fascinating account' that details the horror and places the event within both historical and contemporary contexts.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780300253887

Publisher: Yale University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 December 2019

Country: United States

Imprint: Yale University Press

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 304

About the Author

James Walvin is professor emeritus, University of York, and a world authority on transatlantic slavery. Among his many previous books are Black Ivory: Slavery in the British Empire and The Trader, The Owner, The Slave: Parallel Lives in the Age of Slavery. He lives in York, UK.

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