Zong Trial and Its Relation to Modern History

Zong’s case is one of the most significant events between the Africans and Europeans that have influenced modern history. The current paper is dedicated to the analysis of this event and concentrated on its relation to the modern history and contemporary integration and political processes.

The landmark event took place at the time when slavery was very rampant and spreading all over the world. Europeans saw this situation as a chance to earn more money by making a slave market and using these people as cheap labor. Slavery was the most dreaded thing among the Africans not only because it separated an individual from their family, but also due to the harsh conditions they were forces to exist in. The ship crew who found the business attractive and beneficial and therefore agreed to participate transported the slaves from Africa without bothering about the comfortable transit for the passengers. The ship crew consisted mainly of the people from the firm-land, especially  Africa where they ferried people from. They dealt with the slaves face-to-face while big bosses waited for them in Europe. As such, they also sought the opportunity to exercise their power and the only people that they could dominate over were the slaves. Additionally, they wanted to earn additional money, and this could only be done by exploiting the situation they were into. Thus, the need for power and money led them to subjecting slaves to adverse conditions that affected their health and lives.

The case concerned the ship crew which was headed by Collingwood. The crew killed the Africans by throwing them into the water and demanding compensation for damages from the insurance company. Due to the selfishness and greed of the ship crew, Collingwood and his team overloaded vessel with the slaves so that  there was little spare space. The slaves were subjected to  diseases and unnecessary deaths. Natural slave deaths meant a big loss for the crew, but drowning of the ship was not worth the cost. The team threw the Africans into the water to rescue the rest of the ship, thinking that the insurance company would pay for the losses.

Therefore, Collingwood came up with the idea of throwing the sick slaves into the sea; not because the ship could not carry them, but for their selfish gain. However, the trick did not work with the insurance company because it realized the barbaric acts that went on during the journey and opted for a suit. As much as this trial was not related to humanity and discrimination but rather to power and money, it instigated reforms that fought against slavery ever since.

From the case analysis of Collingwood, it is evident that the Europeans did not have much respect for Africans as for their fellow human beings. The slaves were packed in the room less than a coffin and they lacked even the air to breathe. In other words, the Europeans viewed the Africans as warese rather than human beings. The laws of the land also addressed the Africans in this way, thus degrading their human dignity. Collingwood and his team acted beyond the law by drowning the African slaves in the ocean, and that was not a matter of discussion. In fact, the case was far from humanism ideal because Collinwood and his team were  expected to answer why they got rid of Africans in suck a crude way. Rather, the case was to question the reasons why the ship crew tried to rob the insurance company by lying about their reasons for drowning the slaves. In the modern world, these acts sound barbaric and seem to be an impossible course of action because modern history revolves around human dignity rather than power and money.

Another aspect of the European culture displayed in this case is the desire for superiority through authority and money. The crew had the right to decide for the Africans what was ideal for them. Nowadays, when an individual is sick the first discussion would be how to get them to the hospital rather than how to get rid of them lest they become a burden. At no point did the crew think that the reason why many Africans were falling sick was because of the limited spaces and harsh conditions they had been subjected to. Rather than seeking for means of disposing of them, they could have come up with ways to change their living conditions. However, to the crew this was an opportunity to make extra money and service their ego by killing the slaves cold-blooded. Additionally, during the trial both parties pursued the way for seeking power and money rather than justice for the Africans. This shows how the Europeans were blinded by their greed for control and authority. During the case, some jury showed mercy to the crew even after a lot of  people had expressed their dislike of the barbaric acts carried out by Collinwood and his crew towards the slaves.