The UK drew immense wealth from our country. But was the slavery that underpinned the empire ever lawful? We deserve a fair hearing
Jamaican delegates arrive in UK to hand slavery reparations petition to King Charles
On 6 September 1781, the Zong slave ship set out on the final leg of its voyage to Black River, Jamaica. Four hundred and forty two enslaved Africans were on board – twice the number of people the ship could safely accommodate.
Twelve weeks later, 132 enslaved people were murdered by the ship’s crew by being pushed overboard to their deaths. The crew’s justification was the ship had insufficient water supplies to keep everyone alive for the rest of the voyage – a claim later proved false in the British courts.
