Wales has rather less obvious links to the Slave Trade than other areas of the UK. However, the information leaflet ‘Did you know?’ may reveal some interesting facts you weren't aware of.
The following projects were held in Wales to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the parliamentary abolition of the slave trade:
Everywhere in Chains - Wales and Slavery
£43,700 was awarded to National Museum Wales which funded heritage workshops, talks and visits for community groups in Swansea, Cardiff and Newport to look at the roles played by Wales in both opposing and supporting transatlantic slavery, highlight issues such as human rights and fair trade and explained the legacies of slavery in modern day music and popular culture.
Sugar & Slavery - The Penrhyn Connection
Penrhyn Castle led the National Trust's events to mark the bicentenary of the Act of Parliament to abolish the slave trade. £45,700 was awarded the National Trust to work with the local community to research the Penrhyn family’s connection to the slave trade to produce an exhibition. As part of this research work pupils at Ysgol Llanllechid, Bangor linked up with their contemporaries in Jamaica and Liverpool (Britain’s largest slaving port) to reflect on their shared heritage.
Raising Awareness of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
£22,500 was awarded to the African Friendship Association which allowed local people of African descent and the wider BME community to take part in traditional Afro-Caribbean music and dance workshops. Working in partnership with local museums, these learning activities resulted in the production of a DVD, information leaflets and education packs.
Redemption Songs
£46,000 was awarded to South Wales Intercultural Community Arts (SWICA). The award allowed local communities in Swansea and Cardiff to learn about the slave trade, its abolition, its relevance to South Wales, and the many cultural and social benefits emanating from the black Diaspora - the dispersion of black peoples from their homelands. Working with the local museums in these two cities, the slavery roots of Swansea’s MAS carnival were explored amongst others topics and a DVD produced.
Bittersweet - Sugar, Spice, Tea & Slavery
£203,500 was awarded to the Gateway Gardens Trust to uncover the hidden stories behind 30 of Wales’ finest historic gardens and their close connections to the slave trade through a programme of guided visits and a touring exhibition. For example, explaining how many historic gardens and grand houses were built from wealth linked to slavery - building ships that were used in the trade or buying slaves using Welsh produced copper pans as currency.
The link below provides information on how other parts of the UK marked this anniversary:
Remembering Slavery
Other publications: