British slave-owners’ wealth and power contributed in a variety of ways to the development of modern society.

Money made from the plantations was brought back to Britain and at the time of emancipation in 1833, £20 million was paid by the British government to the slave-owners as compensation for the loss of ‘their’ property in human beings.

What happened to that money? This is a history we need to know.

Dr Hall is Professor of Modern British Social and Cultural History at University College London. Her work explores the interrelation between metropole and colony in an attempt to rewrite the narrative of certain aspects of ‘British history’ in the mid nineteenth century empire period. Free – bookings essential: 020 8767 0543