Issue 37 Spring 23 WEB - Flipbook - Page 6
Exhibition to
explore North-East’s
legacies of slavery
A new exhibition exploring the North-East’s links to the slave trade will open at the University
of Aberdeen.
It forms part of the University’s commitment to improve
understanding of both the institution’s own colonial
legacy and the wider region’s connections to the enslavement of people. The exhibition draws on a two-year
research project which has investigated the legacies of
slavery at the University and the broader region. This
exhibition is a step in recognising the role of Aberdeen
and North-East Scotland in this history, and how its
legacy continues today.
University and the region should do next, as the next
steps should be informed by the views of local communities to address the continuing legacy of slavery.
Neil Curtis, Head of Museums and Special Collections at
the University of Aberdeen, said: “Wealth from Atlantic
slavery flowed from the British Caribbean to North-East
Scotland, into the hands of individuals, businesses, stately
homes and the University. It is important that we accurately tell that story, and the Legacies of Slavery exhibition
is part of that process.
No slaving voyages left from Aberdeen but Aberdonian
sailors and captains worked on slave ships departing from
other ports, while others worked in the West African
trading forts of the Royal African Company where enslaved people were sold. Goods produced by enslaved
people arrived in Aberdeen’s port and were traded in the
city, including sugar, rum, cotton, and tobacco. Aberdeen
was also the starting point for many Scots who left for the
Caribbean to make money from slavery.
“Slavery is part of the fabric of the city, as can be seen in
some of Aberdeen’s street names: Jamaica Street, Virginia
Street, and Sugarhouse Lane.
“Many people from the North-East went to the Caribbean
as doctors, naval officers, plantation owners, and
overseers, and King’s College and Marischal College
profited from donations from them.
“The exhibition is an important step towards a truthful
telling of this story and so an understanding of both how
this shaped our past and the continuing legacy it has
today.”
The Legacies of Slavery exhibition displays original
documents that record the brutal conditions people
endured, but also how enslaved people resisted slavery.
The exhibition also explores how individuals from NorthEast Scotland grew wealthy from slavery, and how these
profits benefitted North-East institutions including the
colleges of King’s and Marischal (now the University of
Aberdeen).
The exhibition Legacies of Slavery: Transatlantic Slavery
and Aberdeen will run from 27 March to 2 December in
the Gallery of the Sir Duncan Rice Library. It is free and
open Monday-Saturday 11am-7pm in term-time, 11am
– 5pm in University holidays. For further details visit
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/collections/visit-us
The exhibition challenges visitors to reflect on the
legacies of slavery and give their opinion about what the
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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