The artist was inspired by the true story of the slave ship Zong, where crew members would cruelly throw sick and dying slaves overboard because the insurance policy only covered slaves lost at sea.

These are just three slaves among the 12.4 million Africans who were captured by raiders and kidnappers and transported across the Atlantic in slave ships ... the dead who were thrown overboard ...

It is the first Mayan slave ship ever discovered ... It is unclear how many of the dead included Mayan slaves, as they were listed as cargo and merchandise, not passengers. The Mayans were ...