Linking the law and finance

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Guildhall, built in 1440, has a vast history ranging from its initial use as a Roman amphitheatre to today, where it stands as a place for public use and official events. Through the period of the slave trade, Guildhall was used to constitute the laws and political structures that allowed the economics of slavery to thrive within the City of London.

One of the most recognised uses of Guildhall during this time was its connection to the Zong Massacre of 1781. The Zong was a British slave ship which left the coast of Africa with 442 slaves on board, twice the number it was designed to carry. Claims by Robert Stubbs (a witness on ship), suggests that due to natural perils of the sea (in line with Lloyds’ standard marine insurance policy), the condition of the ship was rendered “foul and leaky” and thus unable to continue its voyage without some modifications. To ensure the survival of their most valuable slaves, the crew selectively chose 132 Africans, chained them together and threw them into the water to drown. The painting by J. M. W. Turner, “The Slave Ship” (1840), hauntingly depicts the brutality of this mass murder of defenceless people.

Upon returning to London, the ship owner filed a claim against the insurance company, seeking financial compensation for the death of his property due to natural causes outside of his control. In the open court of Guildhall, the crew unashamedly testified to these murders, ultimately winning the case, and proving that the lives of black people could be reduced to mere chattel in the face of economic gain. This case further underpins how the slave traders worked in a legally and economically integrated system that sanctioned such inhumane acts.

The insurers appealed this decision, not on the basis of a massacre, but because there were ambiguities in the crew’s story. Abolitionists would go on to use this event as significant emotive propaganda, creating moral justification for white, paternalistic saviours to free these unidentified victims.

Guildhall today stands as a reminder of Britain’s prestigious heritage and commemorates several national figures connected to the trade, such as William Beckford and Samuel Pepys. Its connections to the legal structures that facilitated numerous aspects of the trade emphasise how interwoven the trade was in British politics, economics and culture. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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