The University of Glasgow has joined SlaveVoyages, an internationally recognised research initiative on the transatlantic slave trade.

Glasgow is the first European institution to join this international project, led by a consortium of universities and institutions, including the University of the West Indies, Harvard University, and the National Museum of African American History & Culture at the Smithsonian Institution.

The database, which is managed and operated by the consortium, has played an integral role in broadening access to archival materials – including ship registers, sales ledgers and recorded names of freed African people, among many other documents – relating to the traffic. Today the SlaveVoyages database is the world’s largest online repository of records on the slave trade.

The new partnership will help researchers study Scotland’s connections to the slave trade and create new teaching resources for schools and universities. This work builds on the University of Glasgow’s existing research into its own historical links to slavery.

The University of Glasgow sees membership of SlaveVoyages as an important step in developing research and teaching capacity in the fields of slavery and reparative justice, resulting from its groundbreaking 2018 report on historical links with slavery.

Professor Jo Gill, Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Arts & Humanities at the University of Glasgow, said: “Joining SlaveVoyages as its first European partner marks a significant step in expanding our understanding of Scotland’s complex connections to the transatlantic slave trade. This partnership reflects our commitment to understanding our history, supporting rigorous research, and fostering informed dialogue. It will not only advance our scholarship but also strengthen our engagement with communities and educational institutions across Scotland, allowing us to share this vital history with broader audiences.”

Dr Shantel George, a Lecturer in Transatlantic Slavery, will represent the University of Glasgow in SlaveVoyage’s steering committee. Dr George’s research draws extensively on SlaveVoyages to understand the origins and development of African-derived cultures and identities in the British Caribbean, particularly within slavery and post-slavery Grenada.

Dr George said: “I have long used this invaluable resource in my own research on the British Caribbean, and this partnership will enable us to contribute new perspectives and data about Scottish involvement in slavery. This collaboration will enhance both our research capabilities and our ability to share this crucial history with students and communities across Scotland and beyond.”

Dr Jelmer Vos, Senior Lecturer in Global History and member of the operational committee, brings over two decades of experience with the project, and said:  “Having been involved with SlaveVoyages since 2001, I’ve witnessed its remarkable evolution from a research database to the world’s largest online repository of slave trade records. The University of Glasgow’s membership creates exciting new opportunities for expanding our understanding of Scottish and Dutch involvement in the slave trade, particularly in regions like Angola and the Ivory Coast.”

Consortium membership allows the University of Glasgow’s College of Arts & Humanities to make SlaveVoyages an integral part of its research environment, building on the scholarship of historians Dr George, Dr Stephen Mullen, Dr Christine Whyte, and Dr Vos.

The University of Glasgow views consortium membership as an opportunity for capacity building in the field of Digital Humanities. Scotland’s role in transatlantic slavery is an important focal point of research at Glasgow, emphasising the study of Scottish participation in the transatlantic slave trade as a valuable avenue for exploration. Membership of the SlaveVoyages consortium has been supported by The University of Glasgow’s Library.  

SlaveVoyages

The SlaveVoyages website is a collaborative digital initiative that compiles and makes publicly accessible records of the largest slave trades in history. Search these records to learn about the broad origins and forced relocations of more than 12 million African people who were sent across the Atlantic in slave ships, and hundreds of thousands more who were trafficked within the Americas. Explore where they were taken, the numerous rebellions that occurred, the horrific loss of life during the voyages, the identities and nationalities of the perpetrators, and much more.

As well as the University of Glasgow, SlaveVoyages consortium members include:

The University of Glasgow

Glasgow is a world top 100 university and a member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK research universities. As a globally connected university, we work in partnership with others across the world to advance global solutions to real world problems. We are proud to be a founding member of the university networks Universitas 21 and The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities.

After the publication of this report in 2018, the University of Glasgow signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of the West Indies (2019), committing the two universities to work together in research and teaching. This led to the foundation of the Glasgow-Caribbean Centre for Development Research and the creation of a one-year Joint Masters Programme in Reparatory Justice. At the same time, the university established a new scholarship programme for Black UK-domiciled students to undertake PhD research at Glasgow. The scholarships are named after James McCune Smith, the world’s first African American to be awarded a medical degree, which he received from the University of Glasgow in 1837. 

In parallel, the University’s College of Arts & Humanities launched the Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies in October 2020 to promote interdisciplinary collaboration in research, teaching, and public outreach on themes related to slavery and reparative justice.