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…


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Black History Month

2026 LISTINGS

Brighton and Hove Sunday 25th October 2026

Aurie Styla: Maverick

Comedian Aurie Styla brings his latest stand-up show Maverick to Brighton as part of the Brighton Dome Comedy…

Cardiff Sunday 25th October 2026

Jalen Ngonda: Doctrine of Love Tour

Contemporary soul singer and songwriter Jalen Ngonda brings his Doctrine of Love Tour to Cardiff, accompanied by special…

Sheffield Sunday 25th October 2026

Waking the Warriors — Ben Okri

Booker Prize-winning writer Sir Ben Okri comes to Sheffield to discuss Waking the Warriors, a modern fable about…

Manchester Sunday 25th October 2026

An Evening with Jackie Kay

Acclaimed poet, novelist and former Scottish Makar Jackie Kay comes to Manchester Literature Festival for a special evening…