Sheffield’s Global History: slavery in the Americas c.1760 to 1888

Are you interested in Sheffield’s global history? PhD student, Toby Gardner will be giving a free talk on Wed 15 April about his research on the links between Sheffield and the trade and enslavement of African people in the Atlantic world.

Sheffield is well known as a hub of anti-slavery activity in the 18th and 19th centuries. The city’s radical politics are central to its heritage and are widely represented and celebrated in local museums and archives as well as academic scholarship. However, recent work has begun to reveal a more nuanced picture of Sheffield's connections to slavery. Toby’s research re-examines Sheffield's relationship with the mass-enslavement of Africans in the Americas, asking: in what ways were local individuals, families, and businesses invested or involved in the trade and enslavement of African people in the Atlantic world?

There will be an opportunity to view original archive materials at the event.

[Image to accompany it, Sheffield from the Attercliffe Road c. 1819. Drawn by E. Blore; engraved by G. Cooke. Picture Sheffield Ref: S11421]

[A typical ship involved in the ‘Triangular Trade’ between England, Africa and the Americas and back to England. From Poems on the Abolition of the Slave Trade, 1809 - Sheffield Local Studies Library: 821 M766 SSTQ]

[Cover of the 1797 trade directory for Sheffield which details the manufacture of tools for the American market -Sheffield Archives]

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