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March 2007
200 years ago, in March 1807, the British Parliament made a new law to ban the slave trade. It became illegal for people to buy and sell slaves. It was the beginning of the end of slavery.
Now, in 2007, loads of museums are celebrating the special anniversary with exhibitions, events and activities.
YAC decided to commemorate the anniversary by including some features about the transatlantic slave trade in our Spring 2007 issue of Young Archaeologist magazine. And we've also designed this special page for the YAC website.
On this page:
NEW!! Manchester |
London |
Bristol |
Liverpool |
Newcastle |
Birmingham |
Hull |
York
Internet links to slavery websites
Events and Exhibitions to Celebrate the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade
Free events throughout Manchester to commemorate the abolition of the slave trade!
Join the celebrations at Greater Manchester's Galleries and Museums on 24th and 25th March
Called 'Revealing Histories: Remembering Slavery', the project seeks to uncover the region's involvement in the slave trade as
well as its contribution to slavery's ultimate abolition.
Eight Greater Manchester galleries and museums are taking part in Revealing Histories and events throughout 2007:
At Gallery Oldham there will be a free drop-in event on Saturday 24 March 10am-5pm which explores the connections between cotton and slavery. A display in the entrance foyer will give visitors the chance to discuss the subject with curators, have their say and influence future events at the Gallery. There will also be talks at 11.30 and 2.30 in which Sean Baggaley, Social History Curator, will look again at the 1876 'Oldham Panorama' photographs to see what they can tell us about the Lancashire Cotton Famine.
Touchstones Rochdale has an afternoon of family activities Saturday 24 March 2-4pm For the children, there will be free workshops, including badgemaking. Curators will be on hand to talk to visitors about the Revealing Histories artefacts, including the only surviving barrel which was used to carry flour for the relief of Rochdale cotton workers during the Lancashire Cotton Famine at the time of the American Civil War.
The Manchester Museum is holding an open weekend Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 March 1-4pm with free workshops, a performance and hands-on activities. Watch and learn The Mami Dance, a tradition passed down over the years to generations of young Africans since the slave trade era and listen to traditional story telling; try out African woman’s haircraft heritage and its role as a strong means of communication; follow an object trail around the Museum and take part in object handling and art and craft activities. The open day also offers the opportunity to find out more about the year long Revealing Histories project and input into the plans for the rest of 2007. At 12noon, 1.30pm and 3pm on both days there will be a free promenade performance suitable for ages 8 and above. The performance travels around the Museum, exploring the issues surrounding the slave trade as seen by abolitionists and traders, slavers and slaves. Called This Accursed Thing, the performance is free, but booking is essential on 0161 275 2648.
On Saturday 24 March at 1pm, the People’s History Museum is holding a Meet the Abolitionists tour. Join Dominique Tessier for a tour of the museum focusing on the campaign for the abolition of slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries. And the following day at 1pm then again at 2.30pm there will be a half hour living history performance called How Do You Plead?, with William Cuffay, whose father was a freed slave.
On 24 and 25 March the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester will host a free drop in event with poet Mike Garry, to discuss a cartoon and verse dating back to the American Civil War (1861), which satirises Britain's involvement in the slave trade. Exploring the Union Envelope. 11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm.
The Remembering Slavery Manchester Tour begins and ends at Manchester Art Gallery on Sunday 25 March. Jonathan Schofield leads the tour which takes in sights including the Royal Exchange and Manchester Town Hall and explains their connection to the slave trade. He will be accompanied by poet Tina Tamsho-Thomas, who will be observing tour-goers reactions and creating a piece of poetry based on the experience. Tours are free and set off 1pm and 3pm and last one and a half hours. Booking essential on 0161 235 8888 or magevents@manchester.gov.uk
At Manchester Art Gallery itself, there will be a slavery trail and a discussion where visitors will be invited to write their own interpretations of objects
Bolton Museum is running a ‘meet the curator’ event on Saturday 24 March. Daniel Smith, curator of local history, will be in the gallery from 10am-4pm to chat about objects with connections to slavery, including Crompton's spinning mule and a Barbados penny.
Sunday 25th March at the British Museum
Experience a day of activities on Sunday 25th March at the British Museum in London, exactly 200 years after
the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire. Throughout the museum there will be: talks, readings, films, family
activities, and music. There will also be special VIP guests too! Admission is free and no booking required.
For further details please contact: learning@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk or telephone 020 7323 8850
23rd May - 23rd September at the Palace of Westminster
Visit the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) in London between 23rd May - 23rd September to see an
exhibition called 'The British Slave Trade: Abolition, Parliament and People'. The Act abolishing the trade will be on display,
along with other important exhibits.
Visit www.parliament.uk/slavetrade for more
information.
16th March to 7th May 2007 at the Museum of London
Check out an exhibition called 'Hands up for Freedom!' at the Museum of London later this month.
It explores contemporary slavery and people trafficking. Come along and learn how the issue affects people across the world
and find out how Anti-Slavery International is working to combat slavery and human traffic.
To find out more, phone 0870 444 3851 or visit www.museumoflondon.org.uk
23rd August to 28th October 2007 at Forty Hall Museum in Enfield
This exhibition at Forty Hall Museum in Enfield will look at cultures in West Africa at the time of slavery and explore the Transatlantic slave trade and
slavery in the UK, USA and Caribbean. The links to Enfield and the slave trade will be explored through African individuals
living in Enfield in the 17th and 18th centuries and wealthy land owners who lived in the borough. The connection of local
quakers with the abolitionist movment will also be explored in the exhibition. Special storytelling and music workshops will be held
in conjunction with the exhibition.
For more information contact Val Munday, Museum Development Manager by phoning 020 8379 1468 or visit
www.enfield.gov.uk/museum
A new gallery at the Museum in Docklands
Opening in Autumn 2007, check out a brand new permanent gallery called 'London, Sugar and Slavery ' at the
Museum in Docklands. It will be the only gallery to expose London's role in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade,
its abolition and the legacy that both have left on the capital. The Museum is housed in an old warehouse built to accommodate
sugar produced by enslaved Africans in the Caribbean.
Discover more about the new gallery at www.museumindocklands.org.uk or phone
0870 444 3850.
From 23rd April at the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum
Visit the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum in Bristol to explore their new exhibition:
'Breaking the Chains: Slavery, Abolition and the making of modern Britain' It opens on April 23rd 2007 and will include displays
on: what slavery is and what made the transatlantic trade unique; life in the Caribbean and British Americas; Britain and abolition;
and the legacies of slavery.
Visit www.empiremuseum.co.uk or phone 0117 925 4980 for details of events.
A BRAND NEW museum opening in Liverpool in August 2007
The brand new International Slavery Museum will open on 23 August 2007, which is Slavery Remembrance Day.
It will be at Liverpool's Albert Dock, close to the dry docks where 18th century slave trading ships were made and repaired.
The International Slavery Museum will highlight the international importance of slavery and its issues both in a historic
and contemporary context.
The new International Slavery Museum will replace the Transatlantic Slavery Gallery at Merseyside Maritime Museum, which closes
on 24th June 2007, several weeks before the new museum opens in August.
Find out more about the current Transatlantic Slavery Gallery at www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/slavery/index.asp
and discover more about the new museum at http://www.internationalslaverymuseum.org.uk/index.html
From March onwards at the Discovery Museum
The Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne is running a large programme of events around an exhibition
called 'Remembering Slavery' from March 2007. This includes free family activities over the Easter holidays and a schools
programme for primary and secondary schools.
Find out more about the museum on their website at www.twmuseums.org.uk/discovery/
or phone 0191 232 6789
29th September 2007 to 13th January 2008 at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
The Equiano Exhibition at Birmingham Museum will celebrate the life and times of the 18th Century writer and
anti-slavery campaigner Olaudah Equiano. Equiano was himself a slave, and he is most famous for his book The The Interesting
Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, which was published in 1789. His personal story about what it was like to be a
slave helped the campaign to end the slave trade.
For more information about the exhibition, visit www.bmag.org.uk/index.php or
phone 0121 326 9570.
From 25th March at Wilberforce House Museum
Wilberforce House Museum in Hull is the historic home of famous abolitionist and MP William Wilberforce. It has
been redeveloped to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. There are new displays on the history
of slavery, the role of Wilberforce and contemporary issues relating to the subject of slavery. The museum reopens on 25th March.
Also check out www.wilberforce2007.com for information about the museum, and other events
happening in Hull.
From 25th March at York Castle Museum
Check out the 'Unfair Trade' exhibition at York Castle Museum, which opens in March. It explores the impact of
slavery on ordinary people and looks at how York's people played an active role in its abolition.
For more information, check out www.yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk or phone 01904 687687.
Internet links to slavery websites - YAC is not responsible for the content of external sites
For more information about events and exhibitions, try these links:
And if you want to find out more about the transatlantic slave trade visit: