Year: 2024

Tom Thorpe is leading a course on Belfast and slavery as part of the QUB open learning programme starting on 22.1.25 for 10 weeks. https://ecommerce.apps.qub.ac.uk/osol/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=108&products_id=1288&osCsid=4bv7k2ep4os9asst5cmeuthe57 This course explores Belfast’s involvement in the international transatlantic slave trade and its role as a centre of abolitionist agitation.  It firstly examines how Belfast’s merchant classes in the mid-18th century were involved in trade with the slave plantations in the West Indies.  The course then examines how, by the 1790s, the city became increasingly known as a centre of radical thought fighting against the…

Dates: 14th & 21st November 2024Times: 11:00 & 14:00 This unique walking tour delves into Belfast’s complex relationship with the transatlantic slave trade and its abolition, unearthing stories of both complicity and resistance. In the 18th century, Belfast merchants exported linen clothing, leather shoes and food to slave plantations across North America and the Caribbean, many gaining wealth from the labour of enslaved people. By the 1780s, however, forward-thinking Belfast citizens began to campaign actively against the slave trade. Their efforts focused initially on abolishing slavery within the British Empire,…

We’re delighted to participate in 2024 Belfast International  Arts Festival! We’re running four walking tours on 14.11.24 (11 & 14.00) and 21.11.24 (11 & 14.00) to explore Belfast’s slavery past & abolitionist campaigning. Book here: https://tinyurl.com/2s3t8u5a

We are teaming up with Douglass Week 2024 for two special Belfast walks to showcase the city’s anti-slavery history. Douglass Week encompasses a diverse array of discussions, performances, exhibitions, and events aimed at fostering collaboration and active participation. Spearheaded by the Globe Lane Initiative in conjunction with a broad network of Douglass scholars, historians, researchers, as well as artists, musicians, poets, community groups, and activists from across the globe, this week-long initiative serves as a platform for engaging with the legacy of Douglass and other catalysts for change. Through historical,…