Inside, the ship's hull stank of sweat and feces – the enslaved Africans were forced to lay in their own waste. The Zong ship's captain, Luke Collingswood, had overcrowded the ship hoping to make a larger profit! But the overcrowding came with a price.
Overcrowding created disgustingly unsanitary conditions, and many of the enslaved Africans got sick and died. Disease quickly spread across the ship, killing the enslaved AND their kidnappers.
But how Collingswood responded to this outbreak was truly sickening.
He ordered his crew to throw 130 enslaved Africans overboard!
Amidst the chaotic massacre, some of the enslaved willingly jumped into the sea – death was better than whatever evils were ahead.
When the ship arrived in Jamaica, the ship’s owner had the AUDACITY to file an insurance claim for his “lost cargo!” Fuming, British abolitionists fought the claim in court.
The case was brought to Great Britain’s Solicitor General, who stated, “Blacks are goods and property; it is madness to accuse [Collingswood’s crew] of murder … The case is the same as if wood had been thrown overboard.”
White supremacy only recognizes Black people as valuable when we’re of service to it – otherwise we’re disposable.