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Depersonalising slavery is a form of chattel slavery where a person is forced into slavery, their name is changed, they are prevented from speaking their own language, attempts are made to destroy their culture, and they are separated from kith and kin.
It was the form of slavery practiced in the Atlantic slave economy.
CS pages:
· Atlantic slave trade
· Books by Nigel Pocock
· British slaving ports
· Connections by Sylvia Collicott
· Ottobal Cuguona on responsibility
· Power and greed
· Rubin Stacy
· Scottsboro nine
· Slavery and the Royal Navy
· South Sea Company
· The 1807 Adaptation
· 2007: 200 years since abolition
Cuttings:
The economic roots of abolition
Plantation sugar production was becoming an incubus for British industrial capitalism long before 1807... (Guardian readers' letters, 22 Jan 2007)
Cost of abolishing the slave trade
Richard Gott is to be congratulated on packing so much useful information into a single article (Britain's vote to end the slave trade was a precursor to today's liberal imperialism, January 17). (Guardian readers' letters, 19 Jan 2007)
Britain's vote to end its slave trade was a precursor to today's liberal imperialism
In March, the British state will rightly celebrate the bicentenary of the end of Britain's part in the slave trade. Yet ordinary citizens, as well as schoolteachers and makers of television programmes who may find themselves caught up in the prolonged bout of self-congratulation imposed by government fiat (with the help of £16m from the Heritage Lottery Fund), will do well to reflect on aspects of this anniversary that are not so praiseworthy. (Guardian, 17 Jan 2007)
Heirs to the slavers
Nearly 200 years after Britain abolished slavery its legacy is all around. As the PM sidesteps a state apology, Andy Beckett talks to descendants of slave traders. And prominent black Britons speak out. (Guardian, 2 Dec 2006)
Blair's deep sorrow for slavery 'is not enough'
Tony Blair reignited the debate on slavery yesterday by making a partial apology for Britain's role in the "profoundly shameful" trade. The Prime Minister said he felt "deep sorrow" for the country's involvement in what was "one of the most inhuman enterprises in history".
But his declaration, which comes ahead of next year's bicentenary of the abolition of the trade, fell short of the formal apology demanded by many campaigners and drew criticism as well as praise. (Telegraph, 28 Nov 2006)
The 'freedom fighter' who lives for the struggle
Esther Stanford, who emerged on BBC Radio 4's Today programme yesterday as a spokesman for the casualties of Britain's slave trade, sees herself as a "freedom fighter" in the mould of Nelson Mandela. "The struggle is my life," she declared. (Telegraph, 28 Nov 2006)
Blair: Britain's 'sorrow' for shame of slave trade
Tony Blair is to make a historic statement condemning Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade as a 'crime against humanity' and expressing 'deep sorrow' that it ever happened. (Guardian, 26 Nov 2006)
Slavery: The long road to our historic 'sorrow'
Britain is poised to come to terms with its role in the brutal trade in human lives. Here leading historian Tristram Hunt considers why, 200 years after abolition, we are finally acknowledging our wrongs. (Guardian, 26 Nov 2006)
English Heritage searches for links to slavery
English Heritage is to rewrite the histories of its properties to include any links that they may have with slavery. (Telegraph, 26 Oct 2006)
Benin's dark past of slavery
Few tourists reach Benin yet this West African nation has a remarkable story to tell about one of the most shameful episodes in history. (BBC, 7 Sep 2006)
Bristolians: Let's say sorry
The campaign for official apologies for Britain's role in the trans-
Atlantic slave trade moved one step closer to fruition last week as a sample of Bristol residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of an apology. (Voice, 19 May 2006)
The contest for memory
In a political gesture that marks the beginning of a long-overdue apology for its role in what is arguably Europe's greatest collective crime, France has this month held its first national day of remembrance for the victims of slavery.
...Using William Wilberforce as its central focus, New Labour plans to whitewash 2007 as a celebration of how "Britain led the world in abolishing the slave trade" - rather than explore the centuries of enslavement and exploitation imposed by the British empire on nearly a quarter of the world's people. (Guardian, 17 May 2006)
Should we apologise for the wrongs of the past?
Last week the city of Bristol was asked to apologise for its role in the slave trade. (Observer, 14 May 2006)
City already 'sorry for slavery'
Bristol apologised for its role in slavery more than 20 years ago, despite a new debate, it has been revealed. (BBC, 14 May 2006)
Broadmead
As Bristol's new shopping development takes shape the debate over what it should be called rages on. (Bristol Evening Post, 12 May 2006)
Acknowledging past mistakes
Founder of the pro-African Ligali organisation, Toyin Agbetu believes Bristol should apologise for its role in slavery - but only if the people of the city really mean it. Starting his speech by saying he hoped it would make people "squirm in their seats", Mr Agbetu said he was disgusted by the lack of compassion shown by people who had voted in two television polls. (Bristol Evening Post, 11 May 2006)
City 'should apologise to slaves'
Bristol should apologise for its role in the slave trade, a high-profile debate in the city has concluded.
...However, in a telephone poll conducted by BBC Points West, 91.7% of nearly 10,000 viewers voted against an apology with 8.3% voting in favour. (BBC, 11 May 2006)
France remembers slavery victims
A French envoy has said her country did profit from slavery as it officially commemorates the victims of the trade for the first time. (BBC, 10 May 2006)
London's slave trade
The key role London played in the global slave trade is one of the city's shamefui secrets. With next year marking two centuries since the abolition of British slavery, we asked David Lammy, MP for tottenham, and historian Arthur Torrington OBE to visit Greenwich to unearth the truth - and discuss the lessons we can still learn.
(Time Out, 3 May 2006)
Making history fit the multicultural script
A government pamphlet about the upcoming bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire, published last month, interprets history in a way that serves government concerns.
On 25 March, the government published the pamphlet Reflecting on the past and looking to the future: the 2007 bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire. (IRR News, 12 Apr 2006)
Easy on the euphoria
Slavery underpinned the Georgian economy as oil does ours: 2007 should give us a chance to learn. (25 Mar 2006)
Dungeon masters
Liverpool's slavery exhibit has some appalling sights; Ghana's barracks for the human cargo are worse. But it's their differences that tell the true story. (Guardian, 30 Jun 2005)
A voice in the crowd
Focusing on the role Britain played in the slave trade, which Beckford describes as "one of the major scars on British history", The Empire Pays Back calculates how much money African-Caribbeans would be owed if they were compensated for slavery. (Guardian, 17 May 2005)
The price of sugar
In January 1804, a small island in the Caribbean became the world's first black republic. The African slaves toiling on its sugar plantations overthrew their French masters and declared independence. (Telegraph book review, 2 Feb 2005) [This review does not give enough credit to enslaved peoples for liberating themselves, and does not mention Olaudah Equiano.]
Slave owner insurance - 200 years on
Descendants of black American slaves are suing London's oldest insurance firm, Lloyd's of London, for compensation for allegedly underwriting the ships used in the slave trade. (BBC, 30 Mar 2004)
Further thoughts on coming to terms with slavery
To make this horrendous past fully meaningful, society needs to see the representation of the impact of slavery and exploitation not only in terms of past suffering, but also in terms of what happened to the descendants of slaves, and what the descendants of the slavers did with the generated wealth. (Guardian reader's letter, 3 Mar 2003)
Britain needs to face up to slavery past
Bristol may have overtaken London in the early 1700s as the country's prime slave port, but London never left the trade (the South Sea company was set up to trade slaves), and Bristol was later superseded in its dominance by Liverpool - another city bidding for capital of culture status and one that Dr Hunt omits from his article. (Guardian Reader's Letter, 26 Feb 2003)
Built with blood money
The city of Bristol is currently competing to be Britain's nominee as the 2008 European capital of culture. With an impressive campaign that has already secured it a place on the shortlist, Bristol has stressed its world-famous wildlife film-making, contemporary arts community, Oscar-winning animation industry and vibrant theatre scene. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the bid has not so far stressed the city's dirty history of slavery. (Guardian, 25 Feb 2003)
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