Revealing Histories
Remembering Slavery
At Bolton Museum and Archives a number of very pertinent objects have been identified relating to the slave trade. These are being used within the galleries to commemorate 2007 and as sources to provoke discussion and dialogue within the community.
The objects are also being used in the development of a schools pack. This will be available to Bolton schools and on this web site to download later in the year.
To give local history balance and relevance it is usually necessary to put it into the context of the currents of regional, national and even international history. The reverse is also often true. The connection between Bolton and the history of slavery is certainly one of these situations. So what did the slave trade and slavery mean to the people of Bolton 200 years ago? Overwhelmingly, the answer is cotton.
Bolton industry's reliance on plantations
People in Bolton were reliant on the plantations of the Southern states of America for the supply of raw cotton.
An ocean divided them, but Lancashire cotton towns and the plantations were directly, even intimately linked. When the cotton industry boomed in Lancashire from the early 1800s, a parallel slave boom occurred in the plantations. Equally an insecure supply of raw cotton caused frequent slumps in cotton towns that affected the whole community.
Lancashire cotton workers supported opposition to slavery
The most famous slump was the cotton famine in the 1860 which was brought about by the American Civil War. In spite of the hardships many of the cotton workers in Lancashire supported the Federal States because of their opposition to slavery. On the 19th of January 1863, Abraham Lincoln famously sent an address to the cotton workers of Lancashire thanking them for their support.
Revealing Histories
This section was produced as a result of Bolton Museum & Archive Service's involvement in the Revealing Histories: Remembering Slavery project:
Manchester and its surrounding towns are intimately connected with the history of slavery through the development of the cotton industry. But there are other stories too, including the region's influential abolitionist movements.
This year, eight museums and galleries across Greater Manchester have joined together to explore the lasting local legacy of the trade. We are looking at our collections (and buildings) in a new light, investigating their origins and revealing some of their stories through a series of events, discussion and debate.
From the Revealing Histories web site
