{"product_id":"zorg-a-tale-of-greed-and-murder-that-inspired-the-abolition-of-slavery","title":"Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A book of great importance and one that will likely become a classic.\" - \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e' 100 Most Notable Books of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eTime Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e Must-Read Book of 2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e Essential Read\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the Pulitzer Finalist and \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eCobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerfect for fans of David Grann's \u003ci\u003eThe Wager\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Wide, Wide Sea\u003c\/i\u003e by Hampton Sides\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn late October 1780, a slave ship set sail from the Netherlands, bound for Africa's Windward and Gold Coasts, where it would take on its human cargo. The \u003ci\u003eZorg \u003c\/i\u003e(a Dutch word meaning \"care\") was one of thousands of such ships, but the harrowing events that ensued on its doomed journey were unique. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eBy the time its journey ends, the \u003ci\u003eZorg \u003c\/i\u003ewould become the first undeniable argument against slavery.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen a series of unpredictable weather events and navigational errors led to the \u003ci\u003eZorg \u003c\/i\u003esailing off course and running low on supplies, the ship's captain threw more than a hundred slaves overboard in order to save the crew and the most valuable slaves. The ship's owners then claimed their loss on insurance, a first for slaves who had not been killed due to insurrection or died of natural causes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe insurers refused to pay due to the higher than usual mortality rate of the slaves on board, leading to a trial which initially found in their favor, in which the Chief Justice compared the slaves to horses. Thanks to the outrage of one man present in court that day, a retrial was held. For the first time, concepts such as human rights and morality entered the discourse on slavery in a courtroom case that boiled down to a simple yet profound question: Were the Africans on board people or cargo? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat followed was a fascinating legal drama in England's highest court that turned the brutal calculus of slavery into front-page news. The case of the \u003ci\u003eZorg \u003c\/i\u003ecatapulted the nascent anti-slavery movement from a minor evangelical cause to one of the most consequential moral campaigns in history―sparking the abolitionist movement in both England and the young United States. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Zorg \u003c\/i\u003eis the astonishing yet little-known true story of the most consequential ship that ever crossed the Atlantic.\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Siddharth Kara","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47282328928492,"sku":"9781250348227","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47282328961260,"sku":"9781250348258","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/1791\/3068\/files\/9781250348227.jpg?v=1770334040","url":"https:\/\/intl.allstora.com\/products\/zorg-a-tale-of-greed-and-murder-that-inspired-the-abolition-of-slavery","provider":"Allstora","version":"1.0","type":"link"}