Transatlantic slavery - National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside

Between about 1500 and about 1870, millions of Africans were transported across the Atlantic by European traders to work as slaves in the Americas. They were shipped in conditions of great cruelty to lead lives of hard, unremitting labour, subject to degradation and violence. The products of their labour - primarily sugar, coffee and tobacco - were sent back to Europe and the profits derived from slavery helped fuel European economic development in the 18th and 19th centuries. The cost in lives and human suffering was enormous.;But transatlantic slavery is not just an historical tragedy. Though there may be disagreement and controversy about the consequences, it changed the history of three continents - Africa, America and Europe. All of us live with its legacy.;This publication accompanies the opening of Transatlantic Slavery: Against Human Dignity, a new gallery at Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool. The gallery seeks to increase public understanding of the experience of black people in Britain and the modern world. This volume describes the objects featured in the gallery and includes 15 essays written by the guest curators and staff who have been involved in developing this gallery. The essays cover a variety of topics such as the rise of the Atlantic empires, the impact on West and Central Africa, women in slavery, and an African view of transatlantic slavery.