British Imperialism and its Legacies: Experiences of Enslavement
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Glasgow Museums and Collections has a few objects that reflect what life under enslavement might have been like. These include a collection in The Mitchell Library of newspaper adverts placed by enslavers for the return of their escaped ‘property’, reflecting one of many ways enslaved people resisted. There are also objects that illustrate the way enslaved people reacted to their circumstances, such as the collection of orisha figures – deities – that testifies to how enslaved African people and their descendants adapted their African cultures, despite systemic attempts to supress them. Some objects provide evidence of the existence of enslaved people in wealthy households in Scotland, such as the Glassford Family Portrait.
The experience of being enslaved is primarily characterised by violence. In West and Central Africa, the trade in enslaved people caused social, political and economic upheaval. The ‘Middle Passage’ – the journey from Africa across the Atlantic to the Americas – saw millions of enslaved Africans trafficked and shackled in cramped conditions like cattle, with between 10 and 15 % of people dying. Those who survived were to experience the brutal life of forced plantation labour, where many were worked to death, faced torture and dehumanisation to harvest products such as cotton, sugar and tobacco that made people in places like Glasgow rich.
Our collections that focus on transatlantic slavery are mostly made up of objects that relate to the products of slavery, or artworks depicting the elite: typically, wealthy white men who profited from the enslavement of human beings in the Americas. Collecting objects and artworks that focus on the experiences of enslaved people has historically never been a priority for Glasgow Museums, which hinders us today in telling the stories of people who have often been silenced by history.
The lack of objects that testify to the experiences of being enslaved is something we would like to address. What histories would you like to see represented? What objects or artworks could tell these stories? Get in touch with the member of staff listed below to share your thoughts.
- Broader term