Legacies of Slavery and the University of Liverpool project.

1. Legacies of Slavery and
the University of
Liverpool
GroupA: Alice, Charlie, Hannah, Jack, Jess, Lauren, Molly,Taran.

2. How is the University of
Liverpool associated with
the slave trade and what
are the consequences of
this today?

3. How is the University of Liverpool associated with
the slave trade and what are the consequences of this
today?
1. Who were the main benefactors of the University of
Liverpool?
2. How are the names of Buildings throughout the
University linked to Slavery?
3. Case studies of other Universities links to
slavery.

4. 1. Who were the main
benefactors of the University
of Liverpool?
Charlie, Jack, and Molly.

5. Who were the main benefactors of the University of
Liverpool?
▪ How we conducted our research
▪ Archives
▪ UCL Database

6. A
small
number
of large
donations
(>£1,000)
A middling
amount of
medium donations
(>£100)
A large amount
of small donations
(>1)
Pyramid of donations

7. Top £595, 000
Middling £1,005,000
Lower
£8,000
Within the top bracket of donations (595,000)
£31,000 came from benefactors involved in the
slave trade.
That is 5.2% of the top donations.
Actual Result

8. Of the top 50 benefactors we
found Only 12% of the were
involved in the slave trade

9. Issues
▪ More than 8,500 names in middle and lower sections;
unfeasible to research all of them.
▪ The pamphlet forming the main body of evidence
comes from 1918.
▪ Lack sources on the very first benefactors.

10. Donations made to the foundation of the
University of Liverpool: Summarising comments
▪ With regards to the slave trade in Liverpool, Stobart says it
‘brought great wealth to the individuals and to the town, a fact
which undoubtedly fuelled cultural redevelopment’.
▪ Many ordinary citizens of Liverpool were connected to the Slave
trade and indirectly profited from it. For example, workers in the
shipping industry would have had an income funded by slavery.
▪ Thus, it’s important to note that One thousand donors of lower
amounts (£5, £2, £1) constituted a large amount of the original
benefectors. These ordinary citizens were probably loosely
connected to slavery or not connected at all.

11. How are the names of Buildings
throughout the University linked to
Slavery?
Lauren and Taran.

12. The University of Liverpool’s Buildings
and their links to slavery.
RONALD ROSS
BUILDING
HENRY
COHEN
LECTURE
THEATRE
GEORGE
HOLT
BUILDING
RATHBONE
BUILDING
ROSCOE AND GLADSTONE HALLS OF RESIDENCE!

13. William Roscoe
▪ Stormy leading anti-slave
trade campaigner.
▪ Founder member of Liverpool
committee for abolition of
slave trade.
▪ His controversial and opposing
views were expressed through
culture, particularly poetry.
▪ POLITICALLY INFLUENTIAL:
Elected as an independent MP
for Liverpool in 1806.
‘‘For thirty years I have
never ceased to condemn this
inhuman traffic: and I
consider it the greatest
happiness of my life to lift
up my voice on this occasion
against it, with the friends
of justice and humanity.‘’

14. William Rathbone
▪ Rathbone family fulfilled a critical role in the
commercial expansion of Liverpool as a port city.
▪ 1809 led a movement against the monopoly of the East India
Company.
▪ Lent William Roscoe powerful support.
▪ Eleanor Rathbone was the granddaughter. Successive
generations of Rathbones had played a prominent part in
civic life.

15. Ronald Ross Building
▪ William Ross was a resident planter. Awarded
compensation for enslaved people on Skeldon in
British Guina and for plantation Alness.
▪ Ronald’s great grandfather was a director of the
East India Company.
▪ India connections in the family was long-standing.
▪ Remained in India until 1865.
▪ SIR RONALD ROSS

16. John Gladstone
▪ Initial wealth based on trade with India.
▪ Then moved onto sugar and cotton trading with
the West Indies.
– Here his slavery involvement started.
▪ Purchased estates that used slave labour.
– Estate in Demerara enslaved 430 people.

17. John Gladstone
▪ After the abolition of slavery,
campaigned extensively for
compensation.
▪ Would go on to receive £106, 789 the
most of any slave owner.
– £83m in today’s money.
▪ He would then sell most of his West
Indies properties.

18. Henry Cohen
▪ Henry Cohen has a lecture theatre dedicated to him
in the Duncan Building, University of Liverpool.
▪ Merchant.
▪ Like Gladstone fought for compensation receiving
such in 6 wards in Jamaica, 2 of which were:
– Clarendon- 26 enslaved
– Mt Nebo- 31 enslaved

19. George Holt
• Victorian ship owner and merchant.
• Whilst not directly an owner of slaves himself, was
part of a family who were.
• His family were also of influence.
• Younger brother the first Mayor of Liverpool.
• The mentioned links would have made him an
attractive name as an investor to the University.

20. Case studies of other
Universities links to
slavery.
Alice, Jess and Hannah.

21. Legacies of Slavery in Neighboring Towns
▪ Manchester, Bolton and Oldham were some of the largest profiteers from
the cotton industry.
▪ Cotton was supplied through the system of American slavery until 1865,
which meant Manchester continued to profit even after the British
abolished the slave trade in 1807 and finally abolished slavery in 1838.
▪ This cotton industry largely funded the Industrial Revolution of
Manchester, making way for new engineers and industrialists, who went on
to fund and teach at the university.
▪ This money found its way into the University and aided the building of
the Old Students Union and the University’s own museum (containing the
collections of John Leigh Philips) and The Christie building (named for
Richard Copley Christie).
▪ The region’s links to slavery also benefited the public as
philanthropists, such as the Greg and the Lees families, donated money
and artworks to local cultural institutions such as Manchester Art
Gallery, Gallery Oldham and the Whitworth Art Gallery. All of which now
share some connections with the University.
The Christie Building
The Collections of John Leigh Philips in Manchester University Museum

22. Harvard University
▪ In it’s early days, slavery
played a key role in everyday
life of the University
▪ Harvard was funded by the
participants of slave trade.
▪ Several slave-related
industries and slave owners
contributed to Harvard right up
to the Civil War.
▪ Three Harvard presidents owned
slaves.
▪ Allowed to expand in early c19
due to donations from
plantation owners.

23. Conclusions
• The legacies of slavery are around us every day here in
Liverpool, from Bold Street to the Roscoe Building.
• Although the university did benefit from slavery financially,
it was also supported by abolitionists and ordinary citizens.
• The story of Liverpool and our University can be seen
mirrored across globally, for example, Harvard and
Manchester.
• As Liverpool was a major port city in the eighteenth century,
connections between the university and slavery are
inevitable.
• However, our research suggests that only a small fraction of
the top benefactors were majorly involved in the trade. Thus,
the majority of benefactors were not. Overall, the visible
legacies of slavery in the university do not need to be
edited; they serve as a historical reminder of the period but
don’t necessarily glorify slavery.
The Docks
Bold Street