Scots were involved in every stage of the slave trade: from captaining slaving ships to auctioning captured Africans in the colonies and hunting down those who escaped from bondage. This book focuses on the Scottish Highlanders who engaged in or benefitted from these crimes against humanity in the Caribbean Islands and Guyana, some reluctantly but many with enthusiasm and without remorse. Their voices are clearly heard in the archives, while in the same sources their victims' stories are silenced - reduced to numbers and listed as property.
David Alston’s Slaves and Highlanders gives voice not only to these Scots but to enslaved Africans and their descendants - to those who reclaimed their freedom, to free women of colour, to the Black Caribs of St Vincent, to house servants, and to children of mixed race who found themselves in the increasingly racist society of Britain in the mid-1800s.
Kate Phillips’ Bought and Sold: Slavery, Scotland and Jamaica: Slavery, Scotland and Jamaica traces the story of how and why thousands of Scots made money from buying and selling humans… a story we need to own. We need to admit that many Scots were enthusiastic participants in slavery.
Union with England gave Scotland access to both trade and settlement in Jamaica, Britain’s richest colony and its major slave trading hub. Tens of thousands from Scotland lived and worked there. The abolition campaign and slave revolts threatened Scottish plantation owners, merchants, traders, bankers and insurance brokers who made their fortunes from slave-farmed sugar in Jamaica and fought hard to preserve the system of slavery. Archives and parliamentary papers in both countries reveal these transatlantic Scots in their own words and allow us to access the lives of their captives.
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Want to be the first to hear about what's happening in Glasgow? Just hit 'Like' on our Facebook page, join the What's On Scotland Facebook Group and 'Follow' on our Twitter account and you're all set!A major new presentation by one of Brazil's most renowned living sculptors, Solange Pessoa, will be hosted at Tramway Glasgow between Saturday 10th May and Monday 22nd September!
READ MORESarah Rose's exhibition at Tramway, Torpor, incorporates processes of material transformation using the basic elements of glass, heat and light.
READ MOREJoin Glasgow Zine fest at their new festival home, Tramway and The Hidden Gardens, for a weekend celebrating zines, climate justice, activism, land resistance, and radical creativity!
READ MOREThe annual Sufi Festival is a cultural experience of Islamic art, culture and heritage in the heart of Scotland's most diverse and multicultural community in Glasgow's Southside!
READ MOREUsing words, dance and song these two uncompromising performers offer us an alternative love story... don't miss Barrowland Ballet's Chunky Jewellery when it returns to Tramway!
READ MOREAward-winning crime author Liam McIlvanney in conversation with Scottish literature expert Dr Valentina Bold in a unique discussion of Scottish Gothic inspired by Liam's new psychological thriller.
READ MOREKathryn Gordon's A Journey of Flight, an immersive performance created in Shetland and inspired by the migration of birds, comes to Tramway Glasgow this summer!
READ MOREExploring the universal yearning to belong and sharing the joy of friendship, The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl is a dynamic and visually stunning aerial show!
READ MOREWhere We Choose To Stand is a powerful new dance theatre show, performed by Penny Chivas, inspired by climate activism and political change.
READ MOREJoined on stage by three performers who walk and talk like him, watch as Dan Daw finds comfort in the possibility of finally blending in, after a lifetime of standing out.
READ MOREHow does one go on alone when the collective no longer exists? Who tells the stories of bodies that can no longer speak?
READ MOREFresh from a knockout run and critical acclaim at Kunstenfestivaldesarts, FRANK arrives as the bold final chapter in Cherish Menzo's trilogy.
READ MOREEnchanting characters are performed by Scottish Ballet's dancers in the Wee Nutcracker, a specially adapted version of the beloved festive ballet at Tramway!
READ MOREGlasgow's Book Fair, Books at the Botanics, is held every month in the Hopkirk building at Glasgow's Botanic Gardens!
READ MOREGlasgow Mitchell Library Classics Book Group runs on the first Thursday of each month with the library kindly providing books for all members, so there is no cost involved!
READ MOREAs Part of the Summer Reading Challenge 2025, Story Garden, join Glasgow Libraries for a storytelling workshop for children and families led by prizewinning author Janis MacKay!
READ MOREBGCP Comic Con returns to Loch Lomond Shores on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th July for a family-friendly weekend suitable for heroes of all ages!
READ MOREAward-winning crime author Liam McIlvanney in conversation with Scottish literature expert Dr Valentina Bold in a unique discussion of Scottish Gothic inspired by Liam's new psychological thriller.
READ MORESequential Scotland is a brand new comic convention coming to Glasgow in August which will spotlight the amazing comic creators and micro-publishers from across Scotland and the UK!
READ MOREThis short course from the University of Glasgow offers you the chance to explore some of Glasgow's impressive libraries and their part in local civic history.
READ MOREJoin Bookface for sipping and swapping and celebrating Sophie Gravia's hilarious new novel in an afternoon of fun on Sunday 17th August!
READ MOREGet ready for an EPIC Glasgow Comic Con on 6 & 7th of September, featuring hundreds of exhibitors, comic creators from across the globe and artist and writer panel events!
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