Adam Smith the Wealth of Glasgow: Empire and Trade from 1776 to 2026

A free walking tour of Glasgow exploring the history of the British Empire, Adam Smith's life and ideas — and what they mean today.
About this Event

In the 18th century, Glasgow was one of the most important cities in the British Empire. Goods from across the world passed through its docks: tobacco from America, sugar from the Caribbean, tea from India. Much of that trade was built on slavery.

At the same time, a professor at Glasgow University named Adam Smith was writing one of the most influential books in history. The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, tried to explain how the global economy worked — and argued that the empire's trading system was unjust, that slavery was wrong, and that a small group of powerful merchants were getting rich at everyone else's expense. People are still arguing about his ideas today.

This free walking tour, a partnership between Radical Glasgow and the University of Glasgow, takes you through the parts of Glasgow that Smith would have known — the streets, the buildings, and the history behind them — and explores what that history means for questions of inequality and justice today.