The 1781 Zong Massacre: Insurance Fraud and the Slave Trade

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 1781 Zong massacre, one of the most infamous events in the history of the Atlantic slave trade. When the slave ship Zong ran low on drinking water, its captain, Luke Collingwood, ordered 132 enslaved Africans thrown overboard—not because it was necessary, but because the ship's owners could claim insurance on 'cargo' lost at sea, but not on those who died of natural causes. The resulting court case, Gregson v. Gilbert, shocked the British public and became a rallying point for the abolitionist movement. We discuss the legal arguments, the role of figures like Olaudah Equiano and Granville Sharp, and the broader implications for how the slave trade valued human life. The episode also touches on the ship's voyage from the Gold Coast to Jamaica, the infamous insurance claim, and how the massacre was initially treated as a business dispute rather than a crime. #ZongMassacre #LukeCollingwood #GregsonvGilbert #InsuranceFraud #MiddlePassage #GranvilleSharp #OlaudahEquiano #AbolitionistMovement #GoldCoast #Jamaica #SlaveShip #1781 #BritishSlaveTrade #HumanCargo #History #AtlanticSlaveTrade #FexingoHistory #SlaveTradeLaw Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo