The National Trust has recently published its first report into the connections between colonialism and historic properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery. The survey, commissioned by the Trust last September, is part of a broader commitment to ensuring links to colonialism and historic slavery are properly researched, represented, shared and interpreted as part of a broader narrative at relevant National Trust places. You can read the report and full press release here.
The report begins with thematic sections including the global slave trades, goods and products of enslaved labour; compensation for slave ownership; abolition and protest; the East India Company; and the British Raj. A factual gazetteer lists 93 individual places and collections that have strong historical links to Britain’s colonial past.
The University of Oxford has been working in partnership with the National Trust since 2016 as one of a number of academic collaborators, and has supported a range of research activities which explore the global histories of the Trust’s places and collections. We are now supporting the Trust in evaluating the potential impact and uses of this report within the academic community both within the UK and internationally.
This interim report has been designed as a catalyst for further research and future editions are already planned. We are inviting researchers to participate in a short survey that we are conducting in partnership with the National Trust which seeks to gather feedback on the report from the academic community: click here to access survey.
The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. The deadline for completion is midday on Monday 12th October.
We are keen to hear from as many colleagues across the academic community as possible, therefore please do share this invitation with any interested colleagues.
Find out more about the National Trust Partnership at the University of Oxford here.
