Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen University exhibition explores north-east slavery links

The exhibit forms part of the university’s commitment to improve understanding of the institution’s own colonial legacy.

Outside of King's College.
Dogs could soon be banned from Aberdeen University, including King's College. Image: Colin Rennie/DC Thomson.

An exhibition exploring the north-east’s links to the slave trade has opened at Aberdeen University.

The Legacies of Slavery draws on a two-year research project which has investigated the involvement of people from the region in the slave trade, and in slavery itself.

The exhibits form part of the university’s commitment to improve understanding of the institution’s own colonial legacy.

Jamaica Street in Aberdeen is a name linked with slavery. Image: Scott Baxter/DC Thomson.

While no slave ships left from Aberdeen, sailors and captains from the region worked on slave vessels departing from other ports.

As well as this, it has been found that other people worked in the west African trading forts of the Royal African Company, in which slaves were sold.

Goods produced by slaves arrived in Aberdeen’s port and were traded in the city, including cotton, rum, sugar and tobacco, while it was also the starting point for many Scots who left for the Caribbean to make money from slavery.

The legacies of slavery

The Legacies of Slavery exhibition displays original documents that record the poor conditions endured, but also how enslaved people resisted it.

It also explores how individuals from the north-east grew wealthy from slavery and how these profits benefitted institutions in the region, including Aberdeen University.

Sir Duncan Rice Library at the University of Aberdeen. Image: Shutterstock.

The exhibition challenges visitors to reflect on the legacies of slavery and give opinions about what the university and the region should do next.

In September, Aberdeen University severed its ties to the £1.8 million north-east teaching fund, Dick Bequest, after it was found the money was directly linked to profits of Forres-born merchant James Dick – a slave trader in the Caribbean.

Head of museums and special collections at Aberdeen University, Neil Curtis 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.

“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.

‘An important step’

“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 (successors of Aberdeen University) 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.”

Legacies of Slavery: Transatlantic Slavery and Aberdeen is free and will continue until  December 2 in the gallery of the Sir Duncan Rice Library.

Sir Duncan Rice Library will host the exhibition. Image: Colin Rennie/DC Thomson.

 

 

Conversation