Brighton researcher highlights slave trade massacre link to London landmark

Over 130 enslaved African captives were thrown overboard from the slave ship Zong in 1781 and left to drown because if they had died on board the ship-owners would have been unable to claim insurance money on lost 'cargo', after a navigational error had left the ship in dire straits. Though the Liverpool ship owners were eventually tried in 1783, the case was heard as an insurance dispute rather than as one for mass murder.

The broader Open City podcast series examines how London and its architecture reveals aspects of Britain’s historical and cultural identity, and the episode featuring insights from Dr Rupprecht touches on issues including collective amnesia and how British society processes guilt with regards to its colonial past – and how we can move forward in the era of Black Lives Matter.

Dr Anita Rupprecht

Slave ship Zong

Dr Rupprecht, Principal Lecturer in the School of Humanities and the Centre for Memory, Narrative and Histories, said: “The legacies of the British Empire register everywhere in our built environment. Until very recently, they have remained largely unacknowledged. The Guildhall has long symbolised the City of London’s historical power and prestige. Making visible its connection to the massacre of enslaved African captives aboard the slave ship Zong is one way of addressing Britain’s colonial amnesia about its slaving past.”