In November 1781, the British crew of the slave ship Zong threw dozens of enslaved Africans overboard to preserve supplies after the ship became stranded in a low-wind area
The crew drowned over 50 women and children on the first day, and then jettisoned about 70 more people, who, still chained, quickly sank into the sea.
Though one African captive who spoke English begged the crew to let them live, promising that he and the others could live without food or water until the ship reached Jamaica, the crew continued to mercilessly throw captives overboard. In all, 133 Africans were killed during the massacre, and while most were forcibly thrown into the water by the ship's crew, some ultimately jumped and took their own lives.
