Cambridge schools commemorate abolition

Slave Trade Abolition in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk (STACS)

6 February 2007

Cambridge schools commemorate slave trade abolition

It is two hundred years since the Act of Parliament that abolished the transatlantic slave trade in the British Empire, and a £45,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will unveil how Cambridge was linked to both the trade and its abolition.

St John's College, Cambridge has received the funding for a project that will enable 120 students from six different secondary schools in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to explore the stories of Olaudah Equiano and Thomas Clarkson.  Both men were activists with local connections, who were instrumental in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. 

Equiano was the principal spokesman of Britain's black community and married a Soham woman in 1792.  Thomas Clarkson, one of the foremost British campaigners against the slave trade, was originally from Wisbech and educated at St John's College.

The students will visit archives, local museums and other sites with links to the two men, before putting together a play about slavery for their schools and local community groups.  They will learn a host of skills along the way, and benefit from professional acting lessons when putting together the play.  A range of learning materials will be provided to schools throughout Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, highlighting regional sites and local issues, and the participants will even design a memorial as part of a competitive presentation to local councillors and fellows of St John's College.

Robyn Llewellyn, HLF Manager in the East of England said:'œThe Abolition of the transatlantic slave trade was a critical moment in our history, and Cambridge's involvement is relatively unknown. This project will shine a light on two local men from very different backgrounds who had an enormous impact on ending slavery, and will extremely beneficial for everyone involved.'

Rev. Duncan Dormor of St John's College, added; 'This is an exciting opportunity for students to learn about two extraordinary individuals who helped to change our world profoundly. The example of Clarkson and Equiano, of a European and an African, working together as part of Britain's first mass human rights movement is a neglected part of our local heritage. We hope this project will help to change that!

The 1807 Act outlawed the use of British ships in any aspect of the slave trade that had flourished from Elizabethan times. It led ultimately to the abolition of slavery itself in 1833. The slave trade was a source of great wealth for many shipping companies, banks, insurance companies and other major institutions. Centuries of resistance by slaves and decades of campaigning by abolitionists came together to transform Britain from the dominant slave-trading country into the one most opposed to the practice.

 

Further information:

For further information please contact Alex Gaskell, HLF press office, on; 020 7591 6047, email agaskell@hlf.org.uk 

Rev. Duncan Dormor, Dean, St John's College, Cambridge, on; 01223 338633, email djd28@cam.ac.uk

Notes to Editors:

Olaudah Equiano was the principal spokesman of Britain's black community during his lifetime.  Born in what is now Nigeria, Olaudah Equiano was kidnapped and sold into slavery in childhood. He eventually earned the price of his own freedom by careful trading and saving. Coming to London, he became involved in the movement to abolish the slave trade, which led to him writing and publishing The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa the African (1789) a strongly abolitionist autobiography which became a bestseller, furthered the anti-slavery cause, and made Equiano a wealthy man. He moved to Cambridgeshire and married a Soham woman in 1792.  Their two daughters were both born in the town. 

Thomas Clarkson was among the foremost British campaigners against both slavery and the slave trade. He was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on 28 March 1760 and educated at the local grammar school and later St John's College, Cambridge University.  Clarkson was one of the twelve men who formed the Committee for Abolition of the African Slave Trade in 1787, and gathered evidence against the trade.  He passed his evidence to the Abolition Committee, who arranged for the campaign to be taken to parliament where William Wilberforce was leading the effort to outlaw the trade.  Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Abolition Bill in 1807 and Clarkson was celebrated as a national figure and a model of philanthropy. He is buried in Playford, Suffolk.

The Heritage Lottery Fund enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From our great museums and historic buildings to local parks and countryside or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, HLF grants open up our nation's heritage for everyone to enjoy. We have awarded grants totalling £3.3 billion to more than 18,000 projects, including almost £xx million in the East of England alone.

St John's College was founded in 1511 and is part of the University of Cambridge. Its aims are to promote education, religion, learning and research. Two of the most prominent abolitionists, Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce both studied at St John's in the early 1780s. The College is marking the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade through a number of events.