Watch this short introductory video by Sir Geoff Palmer to find out what inspired this resource.

Transcript

Sir Geoff Palmer OBE (born 1940) became the first Black professor in Scotland, at Heriot-Watt University in 1989 where he is currently Professor Emeritus and Chancellor. He is also a human rights activist.

Read Lisa William's article about how the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans was integral to Scotland’s industrial development

The power of imagery to change society

Activities

The following three activities support learners to engage in visual analysis and creative thinking.

• Take a closer look is a series of simple questions to help analyse any artwork.
• How to get to know something that cannot speak? is a more challenging approach to analysing what you see. 
• Lessons of the Hour invites learners to reflect on learning and develop their own curriculum. 

Glossary​

Abolition

Abolition refers to the legal ending of chattel slavery. In Britain, Parliament ended the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans in 1807 and British slavery was legally abolished in 1833. In 1837, Parliament passed the Slave Compensation Act, borrowing £20 million to provide compensation to former British slave owners. No compensation was paid to the formerly enslaved people. In the USA slavery continued until 1865.

The British Empire

The British Empire at its height was the largest empire in history, officially lasting from the sixteenth into the nineteenth century. Its territories once covered approximately a quarter of the land on earth, including Afghanistan, Africa, America, Canada, Egypt, India, Iraq, Jamaica, New Zealand, Pakistan, Palestine to name but a few. ​

Chattel slavery

Chattel slavery means that one person has total ownership of another. A 'chattel slave' was legally considered to be the property of the slave owner, as were the children of the enslaved. ​

Colonialism

Colonialism is when a country takes control over another region or country, its people and resources. ​

Over 60 territories gained independence from the United Kingdom between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries.​

Today there are 14 overseas territories, known as the British Overseas Territories, which form the remnants of the British Empire. However, the legacy of empire extends beyond these 14 locations. Aspects of the British language, culture and legal system can still be found across the world today. Racism, discrimination and other negative consequences can be attributed to the impacts of the British Empire worldwide. ​

Contemporary art

Contemporary art is a term broadly used to describe art that is made now about now. Often confused with Modern art, which means art made between approximately the 1860s and 1970s, when many artists rejected previous traditions and narrative art in favour of new ideas, experimentation and abstraction. ​

Human rights

Human rights are the fundamental moral rights that every person is entitled to simply because they are a human being, regardless of their age, race, location, language, religion, ethnicity, or any other protected characteristic. ​

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is when multiple social categorisations such as race, class and gender overlap to create interconnected systems of discrimination or disadvantage.​

Manumitted

Manumitted means released from slavery. ​

Professor Emeritus

This is a title given to a retired professor, who has been permitted to retain an honorary title at the rank of the last office held, often as a mark of distinguished service. ​

Protected characteristics ​

The  Equality Act 2010 protects people against discrimination, harassment or victimisation in employment, and as users of private and public services based on nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.​

Transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans

The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans was a hugely profitable British business involving three stages, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. ​

1. Ships carrying slavers and manufactured goods, such as guns and cloth, sailed from Britain to West Africa. ​
2. The slavers sold their goods in exchange for men, women and children who had been forcibly taken from their villages. These people were transported across the Atlantic, in atrocious conditions, with many dying onboard. They were taken to various locations in the Americas, many to the Caribbean and Brazil,  where they were forced to work on sugar and cotton plantations, as well as in other enslaved roles. Numbers are unconfirmed but approximately 12-15 million Africans were enslaved and a similar number died during capture or transportation. ​
3. The third stage was the transportation of goods produced by the enslaved, such as sugar and cotton, back to Britain. ​​

Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses set up in the USA during the early to mid-nineteenth century to help enslaved African Americans to escape into Canada and American states which had already abolished slavery. ​

Special thanks to: ​

​Celeste-Marie Bernier​, Christina Finch from Wester Hailes Education Centre , Isaac Julien, Katie Hunter from St Thomas of Aquin’s RC High School​, Laurie Anne Carr from Trinity Academy​, Lisa Williams​, Museums Galleries Scotland​, Naomi Garriock​, Natasha Ruwona​, Rebecca Stewart from Wester Hailes Education Centre​, Ross Blair​, Sarah Knox​, SCORE Scotland​ and Sir Geoff Palmer, Tako Taal.