Zong Massacre

Date: November 29, 1781 • Location: Black River, Jamaica

The crew of the British slave ship Zong, running low on water, began the killing of more than 130 enslaved African people by throwing them into the sea to claim insurance.

Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast in West Africa.