Glasgow Museums has some wonderful cotton dresses dating from the early nineteenth century. Fashion is often displayed in museums in terms of its aesthetics. Admired for its neoclassical elegance, the slim silhouette of the early 1800s is linked to ideals of reforms and new freedoms – whether from the political tyranny of the Ancien Régime after the French Revolution or the incorrectly-perceived physical constraints of late-1700s … Continue reading The Black History of White Cotton Dresses

Erin Algeo is an American student who recently studied at Glasgow University.  During this time she attended talks on Glasgow and Slavery given by Dr Anthony Lewis, curator of Scottish History at the Mitchell Library, and wanted to become a volunteer. During her time with us Erin has been researching collections within the Mitchell Library, specifically 18th century Customs & Excise Books for Imports and … Continue reading Making a Difference –  Erin Algeo’s research on Glasgow and Slavery.

  Curator of Scottish History, Dr Anthony Lewis, discusses Glasgow Museums’ slavery related collections, currently in storage at Kelvin Hall / https://bit.ly/2RCr8Vu 1)      The Ram’s Horn/Chest of Drawers Glasgow made money from trading in tobacco. The crop was grown, harvested and prepared by enslaved African people in America, and then shipped to Port Glasgow and Greenock. 2)      Print of the Trongate This view of Trongate shows … Continue reading Object Talks: Dr Anthony Lewis

Glasgow Museums provides a comprehensive curriculum-linked programme for nursery, primary and secondary school groups delivered across nine venues. Based on the museums’ vast collection and encouraging learning through exploring original artefacts and buildings, over one hundred different facilitated sessions are available. In 2015 we started developing two workshops focusing on the topic of slavery and its connection with the city of Glasgow. We were aware … Continue reading Learning about Slavery, Past and Present

Glasgow was addicted to tobacco a long time before the era of her notorious Tobacco Lords. By the early 1600s smoking the exotic New World plant was becoming part of social life in Scotland and by the 1630s Glasgow merchants were importing and selling tobacco to the city’s new consumers. Loathed by James VI as a filthy habit, smoking was nonetheless fast becoming a trendy pastime throughout the country. Some doctors hailed tobacco for its medicinal uses and recommended smoking as a treatment for everything from arthritis, gout and ‘falling sickness’ (epilepsy) to blocked ears and panic attacks. Continue reading “Smoking the products of slavery”

One of the most significant Scottish cotton manufacturers in the late 1800s was David Dale, who is largely remembered today for founding New Lanark cotton mills in 1785. Dale was born in Stewarton, Ayrshire, in 1739 and served his apprenticeship with a hand-loom weaver in Paisley before becoming a linen merchant in Glasgow. In 1784 he met and went into partnership with Richard Arkwright, who … Continue reading David Dale: an abolitionist cotton magnate

In the 17th and 18th centuries Glasgow achieved commercial success through its trade in tobacco and sugar. Its merchants acquired land on the east coast of America and in the West Indies where the land was cleared for tobacco and sugar plantations.  The Scots relationship with the Caribbean became more significant, particularly after American Independence. Jamaica became the dominant island in the Caribbean and by … Continue reading Glasgow Plantation Owners in Jamaica