Scotland And Slavery

While Scotland likes to promote its role in the abolition of slavery, the uncomfortable truth that Scots were also involved in the earlier exploitation of the practice has been somewhat erased from the history books.

What was the real role of Scots in the slave trade and what was the legacy? Sir Tom Devine will give a lecture based on his book Recovering Scotland’s Slavery Past: The Caribbean Connection.

The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion chaired by the Presiding Officer. Panellists include Louise Welsh, author and collaborator on The Empire Café 2014 Commonwealth Games Project on Scotland’s involvement with the North Atlantic Slave Trade, the academic and author Sir Geoff Palmer OBE, and historian Stephen Mullen.