Zong Massacre — Captain Orders 132 Enslaved Africans Thrown Overboard for Insurance

On November 29–December 1, 1781, Captain Luke Collingwood of the slave ship Zong ordered 132 living enslaved Africans thrown into the Atlantic. He claimed the ship was short of water and that killing the captives — rather than allowing them to die of illness — would allow the ship's owners, Gregson & Co., to collect insurance on the 'cargo.' The owners filed a claim; underwriters refused. The case went to court in 1783.