Mayor of London Ken Livingstone will officially open the replica of a slave ship at Tower Pier tomorrow.
The replica of the Zong will be moored at Tower Pier for two weeks and includes a free on board exhibition entitled ‘Free at Last?’.
The original ship is linked to one of the most infamous crimes in the history of the transatlantic slave trade. In 1781 the captain ordered 133 slaves to be thrown overboard and drowned so he could claim compensation from his insurers for lost ‘cargo’.
The Mayor described the transatlantic slave trade as “one of history’s greatest crimes” and said the the drowning of 133 slaves on the Zong “was a horrendous act showing people been reduced to mere objects.”
Mr Livingstone said it was “important that everyone knows the true horror of slavery.”
