In my novel, Cassia, the Xanthakos family come across a ship at sea that is dumping dead and dying slaves overboard.
This happened a lot when ships packed what they considered their "cargo" too tightly.
For example, the British slave ship Zong threw 54 sick and dying women and children into the sea. Two days later 42 male slaves were thrown overboard; 36 slaves followed in the next few days. Another ten, in a display of defiance at the inhumanity of the slavers, threw themselves overboard.
On 22 December, 1781, the Zong arrived at Black River, Jamaica, with 208 slaves on board, less than half the number taken from Africa. The King’s Bench Trial Reports.
Cassia is a historical romantic suspense that spans from 1799-1836 and from the Blue Ridge Mountains to Charleston, SC, and to the NC Outer Banks. It is the third book of the Xanthakos Family Trilogy. The first two are The Chamomile and Laurel.
