History of Slavery

Jacques Callot, The Slave Market, 1629. Picture: National Gallery of Art / CC0 - Credit: National Gallery of Art / CC0

The last slave owners of Islington

Islington in the 1830s was transforming from rural outskirts into a genteel suburb. Like today, bricks and mortar…


View of island Goree with fort and Dakar city visible in the background. Gorée Island. Dakar, Senegal. Africa. Île de Gorée.

Slave Trade Routes

Countless local and regional slave trades in Europe, Africa, and the Americas combined to create the transatlantic slave…


The Slave Hunt” depicts soldiers from Sokoto raiding a village to capture slaves. [Harper’s Weekly (Sept. 12, 1857), p. 581]

The Slave Hunt – Capture and Captives

For three and a half centuries, European slavers carried African captives across the Atlantic in slave ships originating…


Slaves for Sale in New Orleans in April 1861. In urban New Orleans, some slaves were skilled servants, drivers, and cooks for the well to do. April 1861.

Economics and the Slave Trade

The number of European and American merchants, shipbuilders, and investors directly involved in the transatlantic slave trade over…


Williams Pantycelyn was a pioneer in publishing slave narratives in Welsh

The Welsh abolitionists

The abolitionists were up against some formidable economic interests – and some of them even ended up getting…


Videos & Film VIEW ALL

Black History Month

2025 LISTINGS

Liverpool Saturday 10 January 2026

Messiah

Hallelujah indeed! Handel’s Messiah is far more than just an oratorio – it’s a masterpiece that has become…

Nottingham Saturday 10 January 2026

Sinfonia Viva

Members of Nottingham’s famous Kanneh-Mason family have appeared many times in past Nottingham Classics seasons, but this programme…

Southwark Thursday 15 January 2026 – 7.45pm

Out-Spoken: January

Out-Spoken is the Southbank Centre’s resident night of poetry and live music, showcasing some of the most exciting…

Birmingham Friday 16 January

Magic Of Motown

Seen by millions, The Magic of Motown returns with all the soul, style and sparkle that’s made it…