London: Jewish Money & The Slave Trade Tour

Jews, like individuals from various other religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, became involved in the transatlantic slave trade over the course of several centuries. During the early periods of the transatlantic slave trade, in the 15th and 16th centuries, European powers such as Spain and Portugal were the primary participants. As the trade expanded and evolved, other European nations, including England, France, the Netherlands, and Denmark, became heavily involved.

Jewish individuals, both mainly Sephardic, participated in various aspects of the slave trade. Jewish merchants were involved in the financing of slave voyages, the provisioning of slave ships, and the trade in goods produced by enslaved labour, such as sugar and tobacco.

Amongst the cobbled streets in the heart of the City of London, is a labyrinth of hidden alleyways connecting coffee houses, wine lodges, restaurants and synangogues. Here the Jewish association to the growing empire of Britain’s slave trade colony, is produced, developed and mastered.

A minoroty of Jewish groups, through acts of piracy across the Caribbean and mercantilism in London, were able to invest in the companies that conducted the transatlantic slave trade from the 1660s onwards. The capital gains from the enslavement of Africans in the Caribbean, benefitted the Jewish community in greater London, including the Jews Hospital in Mile End, a Jewish Free School and community spaces in the city.

This walking tour brings together a fraction of the many beneficiaries of the Slave Trade, visiting the succession stories of key individuals who despite experiencing ostracism across Europe, were able to obtain compound interest on another discriminated ethnic group. This educational experience highlights the profound story that has been labelled as inconspicuous, opening up a discussion on a topic that has had historians feeling reticent about.

Join Black Rooted as we take the journey of how modern London came to be and witness European disregard of Africa and the cognitive dissonance in the oppression of Black men, women and children.

The tour will be led by Darrel Blake, a Social Activist, Historian, Researcher, Author and Public Speaker. He is a scholar of British Colonialism and is a learned Black Historian through the Soundsystem culture of the 1980's and Pan African Saturday schools of the 1990's. Darrel's degree speciality is in Black Studies and Sociology. Darrel has worked with the BBC, Sky News and GB News, he currently works closely with local authorities, galleries, libraries, archives and museums to develop educational experiences and programmes for academic and public interest.

Start Time: 12:00pm Prompt (Meet 15 Mins Before Tour Starts)

Meeting Point: Bevis Marks Synagogue

Length: Avg. 2hrs (Please Wear Comfortable Footwear)

For further information, please feel free to contact [email protected]

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