There is no more important date in history than 25 March 1807. On this day, only a mere 200 years ago, the Parliamentary Bill instigated by William Wilberforce, MP, was passed through the House of Commons, officially ending the slave trade in Britain.
At the Parliamentary debate on the ‘Struggle against Slavery’ in October 2004, Fiona Mactaggart, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, said: “We want a commemoration that does justice to the issue.”
Last year the Government set up it’s Advisory Group on the Bicentenary, which is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister, John “two jags/the boxer” Prescott, and has already secured £16 million in Heritage Lottery funds.
Major cultural events will take place across the country throughout the year, with a special focus on those cities historically associated with the slave trade.
In Hull, the constituency for which William Wilberforce was a Member of Parliament, a programme of events is being planned under the name Wilberforce 2007. £800,500 has been pledged to redevelop and update the slavery and abolition collections at the Hull Museums & Art Gallery. Bristol’s involvement in the slave trade will also be put on display for public scrutiny following the refurbishment of the Museum of Bristol.
One of the most exciting and challenging exhibitions will be the opening of the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool. As the former European capital of the slave trade during the late 18th Century, next year’s European Capital of Culture is meeting head on it’s commitment to acknowledging some of the unsettling truths that are part of the city’s past.
The museum will feature multi-media displays that bring to life the experience of people who were enslaved so that audiences can relate to them as people. The curators aim to make extensive use of the surviving testimonies of enslaved individuals and will also incorporate a shrine so that visitors may contemplate the conditions under which millions of people were made to suffer.
The museum’s galleries will open on 23 August – the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, which commemorates the 1791 uprising of enslaved Africans on St Domingo (modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic). This date was chosen by UNESCO as ‘a reminder that enslaved Africans were the main agents of their own liberation.’
The Museum of London will ‘play its part in unmasking London as a slave city’, through developing community partnerships and encouraging new audiences to get involved in researching and interpreting their heritage.
The National Maritime Museum will also play a major role during the bicentennial year through it’s Understanding Slavery Initiative, whilst Docklands Museum is planning to develop international links with Cuba, the West Indies and Africa as part of it’s planned exhibition.
Meanwhile the Victoria & Albert Museum just held a two-day conference From Cane Field to Tea-Cup: The Impact of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade on Art, that looked at links between ‘slavery and the production and collection of domestic and decorative artefacts, including furniture, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, sculpture, architecture, prints and paintings.’
Beth Herzfeld of Antislavery.org believes it is crucial we try to understand the slave trade’s cultural impact and how it has affected the lives of successive generations, descended both from those who were enslaved and those who were responsible for the atrocities.
“The bicentenary is a unique opportunity to clarify the realities of the slave trade and increase understanding, such as the fact there was resistance,” says Herzfeld, “and it should also draw attention to the fact slavery is still affecting millions of people in the world.”
Antislavery.org has been greatly involved in curating and assisting with the production of a wide range of events to mark the centenary, from classical and contemporary music concerts to lectures and exhibitions, as well as it’s ongoing campaign to raise public awareness and abolish slavery worldwide.
“I think artists have a significant role in getting involved and helping to raise awareness,” says Herzfeld, “whether it be through putting on concerts, holding exhibitions, or anything else.” With so many exhibitions and cultural events planned for this year the bicentenary is also an opportunity for everyone to see the power they hold in terms of creating change.
“People must seize the abolitionist spirit like they did 200 hundred years ago and demand an end to slavery once and for all,” she says.
