On 10 November 2007, Museum in Docklands will open the only permanent gallery in London to examine the city’s involvement in transatlantic slavery and its legacy on the capital.Marking the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807 by Britain, the new gallery is part of a series of events and projects planned by the Museum for 2007 and 2008.
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The new gallery, called London, Sugar & Slavery, will reveal how London’s involvement in slavery has shaped the capital since the 17th century, and will challenge what people think they know about the transatlantic slave trade. It will debunk the myth that London was a minor player in the trade by showing that it funded much of the city’s industrial and financial success. From Jamaica Road to the Bank of England, from the merchant houses of Blackheath to the nation’s art collections, profits from this most lucrative trade shaped the metropolis.London, Sugar & Slavery will show it was not just a few evangelical parliamentarians who abolished the transatlantic slave trade, but a widespread grass roots movement that included people freed from enslavement who wrote about their experiences, thousands of ordinary citizens who lobbied collectively and women who campaigned with their purses by boycotting sugar that had been produced by enslaved Africans.
The above page also lists related exhibitions which will support the main display over the coming year.
The home page of the Museum in Docklands can be found at:
http://www.museumindocklands.org.uk/english/