Jamaica ponders compensation claim for slavery

Zong massacre
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Further reading

• Account of Gregson v. Gilbert in Henry Roscoe, ed. (1831). Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of King's Bench 3. London. pp. 232–235Account of Gregson v. Gilbert in Henry Roscoe, ed. (1831). Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of King's Bench 3. London. pp. 232–235
  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zong_massacre

Account of Gregson v. Gilbert in Henry Roscoe, ed. (1831). Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of King's Bench 3. London. pp. 232–235Account of Gregson v. Gilbert in Henry Roscoe, ed. (1831). Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of King's Bench 3. London. pp. 232–235

Gregson v. Gilbert (a).

This was an action on a policy of insurance, to recover the value of certain slaves thrown overboard for want of water. The declaration stated, that by peril of the seas, and contrary currents and other misfortunes, the ship was rendered foul and leaky, and was retarded in her voyage; and, by reason thereof, so much of the water on board the said ship, for her said voyage, was spent on board the said ship: that before her arrival at Jamaica-to wit, on, &c. a sufficient quantity of water did not remain on board the said ship for preserving the lives of the master and mariners belonging to the said ship, and of the negro slaves on board, for the residue of the said voyage; by reason whereof, during the said voyage, and before the arrival of the said ship at Jamaica-to wit, on, &c. and on divers days between that day and the arrival of the said ship at Jamaica-sixty negroes died for want of water for sustenance, and through thirst and frenzy occasioned thereby, threw themselves into the sea and were drowned; and the master and the mariners, for the preservation of their own lives, and the lives of the rest of the negroes, which for want of water they could not otherwise preserve, were obligated to throw overboard 150 other negroes.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-2kDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA232&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

The Zong Massacre – a summary

On 29 November 1781, Captain Luke Collingwood of the British ship, Zong, ordered one-third of his cargo to be thrown overboard. That cargo was human – 133 African slaves bound for Jamaica. His motive – to collect the insurance. The case was brought to court – not for murder, but against the insurers who refused to pay up. This is the cruel story of the Zong Massacre.

… the Zong… was cruelly overcrowded, carrying 442 Africans, destined to become slaves, accompanied by 17 crew. The human cargo was manacled and packed so tightly, to have no room to move. But for the captain, Luke Collingwood, the more Africans he could squeeze in, the greater the margin of profit for both the ship’s owners and himself.

Planning to retire, [Collingwood] hoped for a generous bounty to help him in his retirement. The greater the number of fit slaves he delivered to Jamaica, the greater his share.

… the delivery of dead slaves would earn the shipowners nothing. If, however, the Africans were somehow lost at sea, then the shipowners’ insurance would cover the loss at £30 per head.

Thus, on 29 November, 54 sick slaves, mainly women and children, were dragged from below deck, unshackled (after all, why waste good manacles?) and heaved from the ship into the ocean. The following day, more were murdered. In the end, Collingwood had thrown 133 slaves to their deaths. Many struggled and the crew had to tie iron balls to their ankles. Another ten slaves threw themselves overboard and in what Collingwood described as an act of defiance.

http://www.historyinanhour.com/2011/11/29/the-zong-massacre-a-summary/

The Zong Massacre (1781)

… Collingwood decided to “jettison” some of the cargo in order to save the ship and provide the ship owners the opportunity to claim for the loss on their insurance.

Upon the Zong’s arrival in Jamaica, James Gregson, the ship’s owner, filed an insurance claim for their loss. Gregson argued that the Zong did not have enough water to sustain both crew and the human commodities. The insurance underwriter, Thomas Gilbert, disputed the claim citing that the Zong had 420 gallons of water aboard when she was inventoried in Jamaica. A London court found in favour of the insurers…

[Abolitionist Granville] Sharp attempted to have criminal charges brought against the Captain, crew, and the owners but was unsuccessful. Great Britain's The Solicitor General, Justice John Lee, however, refused to take up the criminal charges claiming “What is this claim that human people have been thrown overboard? This is a case of chattels or goods. Blacks are goods and property; it is madness to accuse these well-serving honourable men of murder… The case is the same as if wood had been thrown overboard.”

http://www.blackpast.org/?q=gah/zong-massacre-1781

bobby wrote:https://cuttingedge2.forumotion.co.uk/t685p30-jamaica-ponders-compensation-claim-for-slavery#41158

rockonbrother, With regards to compensation for slavery, just where do you start and where do you finish…

bobby wrote:https://cuttingedge2.forumotion.co.uk/t685p30-jamaica-ponders-compensation-claim-for-slavery#41158

… Slavery didn't start in Africa…

bobby wrote:https://cuttingedge2.forumotion.co.uk/t685p30-jamaica-ponders-compensation-claim-for-slavery#41158

… which seems to me is the only slavery that seems to bother you.

bobby wrote:https://cuttingedge2.forumotion.co.uk/t685p30-jamaica-ponders-compensation-claim-for-slavery#41158

Also how did the slaves get into the hands of the slave traders…