London, sugar and slavery

London and the Transatlantic Slave Trade:
Plans for 2007/2008 at Museum in Docklands

In Autumn 2007, Museum in Docklands will open the only permanent gallery in London that examines the city's involvement in transatlantic slavery and its legacy on the capital. Marking the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade by Britain, the new gallery is part of a series of events and projects planned by the Museum for 2007 and 2008.

The new gallery, called London, Sugar and Slavery, will reveal how London's involvement in slaving has shaped the capital since the 17th century, and will challenge what people think they know about the transatlantic slave trade. It will debunk the myth that London was a minor player in the trade by showing that it funded much of the city's industrial and financial success. From Jamaica Road to the Bank of England, from the merchant houses of Blackheath to the nation's art collections, profits from this most lucrative trade shaped the metropolis.

London, Sugar and Slavery will show it was not just a few evangelical parliamentarians who abolished the transatlantic slave trade, but a widespread grassroots movement that included people freed from enslavement who wrote about their experiences, thousands of ordinary citizens who lobbied collectively and women who campaigned with their purses by boycotting sugar that had been produced by enslaved Africans. Perhaps the most challenging part of the gallery will shed light on the vital role that Africans played in liberating themselves from enslavement. Their resistance to accepting a life of slavery and their rebellions in the Caribbean islands forced the British establishment to re-think its economic and foreign policy and inspired the public to help campaign for abolition. Visitors will find themselves questioning the real motivations behind the abolition legislation, discovering Britain's continuing relationship with its West Indian colonies and be challenged to think about the long term effects of the slave trade on London and Londoners today.

The gallery will include personal accounts, film, music and over 140 objects including a table at which negotiations over the Abolition Act were hammered out, and art from the cultures which were impacted by the transatlantic slave trade. Visitors will be able to record their own responses to the subject in a video booth and on a comments wall. There will also be a performance area and exhibition space.

Plans also include the announcement of the intention to apply for UNESCO World Heritage status for the Museum building and surrounding area in recognition of its importance as a site of memory for the African Diaspora.

The Museum will launch a website that unmasks London's slaving heritage, and stage a play commissioned by the Museum that will be performed in Africa, the Caribbean and Britain - the three corners of the triangular slave trade.

David Spence, director of Museum in Docklands said: "This is not a history that has been widely told, and yet it is vital to the understanding and appreciation of London's identity. The bicentenary isn't just about black history, it's about
British history. Many people will find it uncomfortable, but to understand this
history is to understand many facets of society today, such as attitudes to race, and the melding of British, African and Caribbean culture. It also deepens
everyone's knowledge of the factors that have shaped London's physical, cultural and economic landscape.

"The largest building project in the world in the year 1800 was privately funded by sugar plantation owners who built West India Dock and its warehouses for sugar imported from the West Indies. Today, Number 1 Warehouse is home to the Museum in Docklands. It is a unique historic artefact that stands as a powerful testament not only to a chapter in the development of British history but also to the history of the African Diaspora."

Museum in Docklands has been working in partnership with local communities and a consultative committee which includes specialists in black British history to create these new resources for visitors.

The series of projects planned to form the Museum in Docklands' response to the bicentenary are:

1. Announcement of application for UNESCO World Heritage status in March 2007

The Museum in Docklands is housed in No 1 Warehouse, West India Quay. This building, built in 1802, is one of the most significant surviving structures in Britain directly connected to the economic 'machinery' of the transatlantic slave trade.

In recognition of the building's importance and London's central role in the
triangular trade the Museum will announce its intention to have Museum in Docklands and the surrounding conservation area inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its importance as a site of memory for the African Diaspora. The Museum intends this to be a transnational serial nomination in conjunction with partners in West Africa and Barbados in the Caribbean. This initiative is supported by UNESCO's Scientific Committee on the Slave Route Project.

The Barbados Museum and Historical Society in Bridgetown has agreed to partner the Museum in this application. Currently Barbados has three sites related to transatlantic slavery on the World Heritage site nomination list, pending a decision on inscription.

2. Turning the tables: A touring play in August 2007 to mark the International
Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition (23 August)

This project will see a dramatic reinterpretation of a key artefact connected to
London's role in abolition - the Buxton Table. This object, currently on display in the Museum in Docklands, was owned by leading abolitionist Thomas Buxton and the key members of the abolitionist movement, such as William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson, met around this table to draft the bill that finally abolished slavery in the British Empire in 1834. The leading African playwright, John Matshikiza, has been commissioned to produce an original work that challenges the traditional view of the abolition of slavery, bringing the voice of Africans to the table.

The play will be will be staged at Iziko Museums Cape Town and the Barbados Museum and Historical Society Bridgetown, and Museum in Docklands, accompanied by debates and other educational activities. It is also planned to be staged locally in Stratford, East London. The project is endorsed by UNESCO.

3. A new gallery - London, Sugar and Slavery - be opened in October 2007

This gallery will examine the central role that London and Londoners played in the enslavement and forced transportation of Africans to the Caribbean and the abolition movement to halt the trade. It will also examine the ensuing legacy on the capital and the contribution of African descendants to British history and culture. The gallery will be accompanied by a catalogue, learning materials and an on-line resource. The Museum is working closely with a group of historians and community advocates to develop the gallery.

The Museum has applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund for funding to assist with the delivery of this gallery. Money has already been awarded through the London Museums Hub.

4. Interactive e-map to be launched in October 2007

The Museum will create an interactive map of London that will be available both
online and in the gallery. It will identify the 'footprint' that slavery and the
abolition movement has left on the contemporary London landscape by highlighting the various buildings and locations that are connected to this history. Historical content will be generated in collaboration with three other London museums working with different community groups. The online and gallery based components will provide learning support to those who visit or intend to visit the gallery as well as those interested in the subject who cannot travel to Museum in Docklands or London.

5. Publication on London, sugar and transatlantic slavery in May 2008
This scholarly work will comprise a collection of essays from leading historians on London's association with the slave trade. It will provide an illustrated and in
depth accompaniment to the themes dealt with in the gallery.

6. Public Arts Project in response to the statue of Robert Milligan in May 2008

Artists will be invited to respond with their own interpretations of the statue of
West India Company director, Robert Milligan, that stands today outside the Museum in Docklands.