The new voyages of the slaveship Zong

Research has shown that colonial enslavement has left a deep felt legacy of far reaching social and economic problems, a legacy that has yet to be sufficiently acknowledged or addressed.  200 years of silence and historical amnesia on the facts and effects of slavery – both the suffering caused and the benefits it created for Britain – has kept the wider British public in ignorance of what their forebears did in Africa and the Caribbean. In short: the legacy of slavery impacts us all.

It is our desire to sail a replica slave ship round the Briish coast to visit some of the ports that were involved in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Zong Voyage aims to highlight the legacies of slavery present in our society and economy and set in motion a wider project to effect community change.

The voyage is being planned in conjunction with local museums, schools, churches and community groups, and will provide an opportunity to:

• Raise awareness of Britain’s leading role in the transatlantic slave trade.
• Stimulate and collate research into local involvement in this trade, and the legacy of the both the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and industrial exploitation in Britain. 
• Provide encouragement to existing and a catalyst for new local community-led projects seeking to address the issues identified.
• Create a greater national collective understanding and sharing of information and ideas to address legacy issues 
• Assess levels of interest in establishing a permanent centre in a particular area.

We have been building up local contacts and representatives in each port who will organise and coordinate events, visits to the ship, and publicise the ship's visit in their area. There's always room for more to join in, so let us know if would like to be put in touch with a contact for the port nearest you. The current list of ports (more may be added) is: Plymouth, Ilfracombe, Liverpool, Manchester (Salford), Lancaster, Whitehaven, Bristol.

An exhibition to use on the ship, or elsewhere, is being put together and will be available for local events in 2020.

We are still fundraising for this project, so if you would like to help with this, or provide a contact, or be involved in this exciting venture in any other way, please contact us.