[toxicFork]

What makes you assume that the first thing he can think of is compensation?

It looks like what they first thought of was to find a place to live, and to try to go back home.

Regarding compensation:

What makes you think that he did not ask for compensation from his owners?

If you read a bit more you will see that they did ask their former owners for compensation indeed.

"Because Cudjo “always talkee good,” the Africans selected him to approach their former owners and ask for land in exchange for their years of free labor."

The quote is from another site linked by Joeboy further down in the comments: https://www.vulture.com/2018/04/zora-neale-hurston-barracoon...