The Materiality of Enslavement: Ironwares in the British Atlantic World, 1650-1850

In the previous two decades a "material turn" has challenged the traditional scepticism towards "objects or artefacts" among historians (Gerristen and Riello, 2021, 2-3).

For instance, a single mass-produced object can give insight into the complex history of global commerce networks, created by the expansion of colonial Atlantic markets and transatlantic slavery.

John McAleer explored the possibilities offered, and challenges presented, when using material cultures displayed in museum contexts to understand European imperial history (McAleer, 2021, 299-304).

This project will apply the frameworks of analysis developed in the study of material culture and use them to uncover how museum collections relate to transatlantic slavery and its legacies and how these objects can be used to understand the relationship between colonial trade, transatlantic slavery, and British manufacturing.