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On
the 6th September 1782, a ship named Zong departed from Liverpool
carrying a full cargo of healthy slaves to Jamaica.
The
master of this ship, Luke Collingwood, was previously a surgeon
on slave ships, but was inexperienced as a master. As a result of
this, when the ship finally saw the coastline of Jamaica on the
27th of November, Collingwood panicked. Probably embarrassed and
also distressed by the high death rate of slaves onboard, he decided
against docking the boat, and instead ordered the ship to run leeward
where it sailed around in circles for days.
In
desperation, Collingwood decided to throw the dead slaves overboard.
54 on the first day and 43 on the second. A last, semi-conscious,
batch of 36 were due to be thrown overboard but they showed resistance.
Collingwood ordered them shackled before they were thrown to the
sea. Ten of these men managed to slip from the grasp of their captors,
and instead plunged to their suicide deaths into the foamy waters.
This
incredible history oil painting is a vivid document of that fateful
day and Turner, in his almost apocalyptic style, uses the burning
orange light of the West Indian sun as a dramatic backdrop to the
restless waves that carry the newly dead to a watery grave.
Flailing hands and legs trapped by shackles, become fresh bait for
the eager sea life that is ready to devour the black flesh.
When
Collingwood returned late to Liverpool, with a disappointing profit
from the few slaves that had gone on the market, his statement was
that a lack of water compelled him to dispose of the dead slaves.
Claims to insurers were questioned, as they argued that the slaves
were needlessly sacrificed.
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