The Zong Massacre in the 1800s was deeply troubling.
A slave ship was bound for Jamaica and threw 130 chained up slaves overboard, all drowning so that the captain could make a claim on insurance (slaves had insurance policies in case of “damage”.)
They tried to use the excuse that they were short on water and had to dispose of the “cargo”— but their insurance claim was denied.
Witnesses spread the word of the event and there was outrage from antislavers.
They were never convicted for any of their crimes. But the word of the event spread throughout jamaica and helped create more antislavery sentiment throughout the island.
They now have a monument to the people that lost their life in Zanzibar:
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