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

Lambeth Thursday 27 August to Saturday 24 October 2026

The Story

A gripping newsroom drama by Tracey Scott Wilson, The Story makes its UK premiere at the National Theatre,…

Kensington and Chelsea Saturday 29 August 2026 – Monday 31 August 2026

Notting Hill Carnival 2026

Notting Hill Carnival is Europe’s largest street festival and one of the most important cultural celebrations of Caribbean…

Leeds Sunday 30th August 2026

Black Music Festival 2026

Join the 40th Anniversary of the Black Music Festival in Leeds, a vibrant celebration of Black music, culture…

Kensington and Chelsea Sunday 30th August – Monday 31st August 2026

Notting Hill Carnival 2026

Notting Hill Carnival returns in 2026 as Europe’s largest street festival and one of the most iconic celebrations…