Unit information: Bristol and the Slave Trade c.1550-1807 (Level C Special Topic) in 2009/10

Unit name	Bristol and the Slave Trade c.1550-1807 (Level C Special Topic)
Unit code	HIST14023
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Mr. Taylor
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of History (Historical Studies)
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

Bristol played a major role in the transatlantic slave trade and many members of the city's community benefited from its proceeds. The wealth which it generated is still evident in today's city and some would also argue in the institutions which were endowed on the back of the trade. Yet Bristolians also came to be at the forefront of moves to end the trade and played a central role in its eventual abolition.

This unit looks at the origins of the slave trade and how Bristol's merchants came to be involved. Using primary sources students will examine trading voyages and trace the impact this had on all those involved. The expansion of the trade and the reasons for its decline will be explored, and the role of those associated with Bristol in the eventual abolition of the trade will be considered.

Teaching Information

10 x 2 hour seminars.

Assessment Information

1 x 2 hour exam

Reading and References

Essential Reading:

• Pip Jones, Satans Kingdom: Bristol and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Bristol, 2007).

• Madge Dresser, Slavery Obscured: The Social History of the Slave Trade in an English Provincial Port (London, 2001).

• P.E.H. Hair, The Atlantic Slave Trade and Black Africa (Liverpool, 1989).

• Peter Marshall, The Anti-Slave Trade Movement in Bristol (Bristol, 1968).