Learning about the Slave Trade in Cumbria

We have had an amazing and informative day at the Beacon in Whitehaven.  We joined with our friends from Distington school to hear about the slave trade and its role in building both the town and economy of Whitehaven and how ultimately this changed Whitehaven into a thriving port town.

We had a really interesting (and sobering) talk from Alan Gillon of the Beacon, which brought home the reality, barbarity and impact of the slave trade so close to home here in Cumbria.

We learned that Whitehaven was part of what was known as the trade triangle.  Goods such as Iron, coal, manacles, gunpowder and guns were shipped from Whitehaven to Africa, the ships off loaded their cargo and then picked up slaves to take them to the Americas to sell.  That stretch of the journey was known as the ‘dreaded middle passage’ where as many as 300 slaves could be packed into a ship, many not surviving the year long journey and enduring unspeakable cruelty and mistreatment at the hands of the crew and slave traders.  The empty ships then bought goods back to Whitehaven, a large proportion being rum, sugar and tobacco.  

We were staggered to learn that some 50 million people were impacted by the slave trade.  Whitehaven involvement was approx 1-2% of that 50 million which is smaller than many ports in the UK.  This was because it only traded in slaves when other avenues of trade were more scarce.  Whilst trading in slaves began in Whitehaven in 1710, during 1722-1749 the tobacco trade was flourishing and so no ships left Whitehaven to pick up slaves, but it began again in 1922 and went on for another 27 years.

One fact which many of us hadn’t realised about the slave trade was that when slavery was abolished the merchants were compensated financially by the government so that they didn’t persist in the trade.  However the slaves themselves when they were released were not compensated. It was facts like these which really brought home the total injustice that ran so deep in the slave trade.

Several very familiar Cumbrian family names popped up in the talk and in the museum including The Lutwidges and The Lowther family.  In two weeks time we will all visit Lowther castle to learn more about their involvement in Carlisle’s many faceted Textile history

Shaddongate Mill in Carlisle was mentioned as it is very much involved in making profit from the slave trade.  It produced fabric made from the slave plantation cotton which had been shipped here and which was then sent back to the plantations to be made into clothing for the slaves.

After the talk we looked at the Exhibits and information in the museum which again reinforced the fact that huge changes took place in both Whitehaven’s, Carlisle and Cumbria’s fortunes due to the slave trade.  

A good but sobering day with a lot of hard history to digest.