The Zorg

A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery

De: Siddharth Kara

Narrado por: Dion Graham

"The Zorg remains a book of great importance and one that will likely become a classic. It takes a respected place within a growing historical literature about the slave ship in generaL…a potent exposé of the ancient clash between humanity and property.”—The New York Times Book Review

"[Narrator Dion] Graham's resonant voice is nearly perfect in all aspects. He is easy to follow, enunciates perfectly, and is suitably expressive throughout." — AudioFile

From Pulitzer finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Cobalt Red: A notorious slave ship incident that led to the abolition of slavery in the UK and sparked the US abolitionist movement. This program is read by Dion Graham, narrator of over 300 audiobooks and an AudioFile Golden Voice. Dion has won multiple Earphones and Audie Awards.

In 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 Zorg (a Dutch word meaning “care”) was one of thousands of such ships, but the harrowing events that ensued on its doomed journey were unique.

After reaching Africa, the Zorg was captured by a privateer and came under British command. With a new captain and crew, the ship was crammed with 442 slaves and departed in 1781 for Jamaica. But a series of unpredictable weather events and mistakes in navigation left the ship drastically off course and running out of water. So a proposition was put forth: Save the crew and the most valuable of the slaves—by throwing dozens of people, starting with women and children, overboard.

What 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 Zorg catapulted 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

Siddharth Kara utilizes primary-source research, gripping storytelling, and painstaking investigation to uncover the Zorg’s journey, the lives and fates of the slaves on board, and the mysterious identity of the abolitionist who finally revealed the truth of what happened on the ship.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press

Reseñas de la Crítica

“This remarkable, riveting book about a famous event of nearly two and a half centuries ago finds a raft of new information that generations of historians (myself included) have missed. And the episode involved was not just one more atrocity onboard a slave ship at sea; it was the spark that helped ignite the greatest human rights movement of all time.” —Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold's Ghost

"Mass murder aboard a slave transport, half-forgotten today but an iconic event...A vivid historical footnote, but also a milestone." --Kirkus

"A compelling, meticulously researched tale told with compassion and clarity, The Zorg reveals the horrors of the Atlantic slave trade and the humanity that led to its demise." --Hallie Rubenhold, bestselling author of The Five and The Story of a Murder

“The history at the heart of The Zorg is urgent, unflinching, and utterly essential. Siddharth Kara brings overdue attention to stories that demand to be known.” --Dr. Anthony Delaney, author of Queer Georgians and podcast host of After Dark

"enthralling and elegant...a harrowing glimpse of slavery’s horrors and an incisive investigation into one of history’s most reviled crimes." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A great and important story

I’m a big fan of Siddharth Kara’s work and The Zorg does not disappoint. It’s a remarkable story very well told. Also, the narration is exceptionally well done.

Powerful story, hard to digest

The tl;dr is slavery was way worse than we thought it was.

And don’t forget there are people alive - even people in power - that will tell you it wasn’t that bad, the Africans were in on it, etc, etc.

The book covers the history of the English-African-Caribbean “triangle” of the slave trade, then goes in to detail on the Zorg’s story.

The first few sections up to the trial are the best parts - the details of the trial and the aftermath seemed a little tedious to me, but the author wanted to capture every last detail and did.. overall a good read though.

Oh. My. God.

This book is an astonishing account of a particular slaving ship, its crew, and the atrocities committed towards the enslaved humans they were tasked with delivering to the Caribbean sugar colonies. It’s also a tale of how this horrid incident helped push for the eventual banning of the slave trade and ultimately lead to the abolishment of slavery in England.

Well written, researched, and presented. Highly recommend.

The cruelty, greed, and disregard for common decency

Very well written and we should never forget what these people went through, it’s horrific at best.