The Zorg - A Tale of Greed, Murder and the Abolition of Slavery

The Zorg is the most consequential slave ship of the 18th century whose voyage changed the course of history, yet the story remains largely unknown. Drawing on a trove of archival materials, New York Times bestselling author Siddharth Kara uncovers new details of the Zorg ''s voyage and takes the reader on a gripping journey from the Netherlands to Africa''s Gold Coast where it was captured by a British privateer before loading its human cargo and heading onto Jamaica on its ill-fated journey to fuel the lucrative sugar trade. A series of unpredictable weather events and mistakes in navigation left the ship drastically off course, running out of food and water. To save the crew and the most valuable of the slaves, the captain decided to throw 140 slaves, mostly women and children, overboard. What followed is a fascinating legal drama in England''s highest court that turned the brutal business of slavery into front page news. For the first time, concepts such as human rights and morality entered the discourse on slavery, in a notorious case that boiled down to a simple but profound question: were the Africans on board the Zorg people or cargo? The case of the Zorg catapulted the nascent anti-slavery movement to one of the most consequential moral campaigns that changed the course of history.

About the author

Siddharth Kara is an author, researcher, and activist on modern slavery. Kara has written several books and reports on slavery and child labour, most recently the New York Times bestseller and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Cobalt Red. Kara also won the Frederick Douglass Book Prize. He has lectured at Harvard University and held a professorship at the University of Nottingham. He divides his time between Los Angeles and London.

Product details

• Authors: Siddharth Kara, Kara Siddharth
• Publisher: Doubleday
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 16.10.2025
• EAN: 9781529964325
• ISBN: 978-1-5299-6432-5
• No. of pages: 336
• Dimensions: 156 mm x 240 mm x 40 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Cultural history; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Europe, Africa, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Slavery, HISTORY / Maritime History & Piracy, maritime history, Caribbean islands, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, Social and cultural history, African History, Slavery & abolition of slavery, Human rights, civil rights, Relating to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) peoples, C 1700 To C 1800, Slavery and abolition of slavery