Final answer:
The act of throwing items overboard to lighten a vessel and prevent sinking is called jettison. Examples like the Zong slave ship highlight the historical significance of such acts and the broader context of slavery and maritime peril.
Step-by-step explanation:
The act of voluntarily throwing cargo or portions of a ship overboard to save it from sinking or other damage is known as jettison. This is a covered peril in insurance policies, and it has historical significance. One of the most infamous examples of jettison is the case of the Zong, where the captain ordered 132 enslaved people to be thrown overboard in 1781 to claim insurance for the 'lost cargo.' This act points to the dark history of African and North American Slavery, reflecting the inhumane treatment of enslaved people and the grim economic realities of the transatlantic slave trade. The instances in literature and history depicting the heroic acts or profound dejections of seafarers underscore the perils they faced and the extreme measures taken to ensure survival at sea.
Whether it's in the storied attempts to survive a shipwreck as detailed in fictional accounts or the cruel realities faced by African slaves during the Middle Passage, jettison and ship disasters have shaped maritime history. The Samothracian Mysteries focused on protecting sailors from such sea perils, adding a mythological dimension to the narrative of maritime history and insurance practices. During shipwrecks or other maritime emergencies, decisions had to be made quickly, such as in a passage describing the oiler's advice to take a dingey to sea again in the face of overwhelming waves—an illustration of the immediate and life-or-death decisions encountered at sea.