‘That Infamous Commerce in Human Blood’: Reflections on Representing Slavery and Empire in British Museums

Abstract

In 2007, museums across Britain commemorated the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade. In doing so, they confronted three complex and interrelated issues: the changing historiography of the British Empire; the representation and commemoration of Britain’s involvement in plantation slavery, the transatlantic slave trade and their abolition; and ongoing debates about how museums should engage with these issues and what their role should be in reflecting and interpreting these themes for a public audience. In the wake of the abolition bicentenary much professional museum and academic discussion has focused on the meanings and ramifications of this anniversary year for museums and other cultural institutions in Britain, as well as for the public understanding of Britain’s role in slavery and the slave trade. This article examines how this history was represented in two particular examples. By concentrating on museums whose general remit includes the history of empire, the discussion also explores how the history of Britain’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade became a touchstone for debates about the representation of Britain’s imperial past in 2007.