Slavery in the City of London

If you enjoyed or missed the last fundraising walk for Mayfair & Soho Amnesty Group on the history of London from a Human Rights perspective on the 28th May, then here's another chance to go on a new walk on Slavery in the City of London on the 10th June;

This tour will explain how slavery has been at the heart of the city of London’s story since the Roman invasion and will include visits to historic locations connected to medieval serfdom, the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the abolitionist movement as well as exploring the capital’s current incarnation as a major hub for human trafficking.

The tour will visit the headquarters of the Royal African Company, which between 1672 and 1740 operated a monopoly over the Transatlantic Slave Trade and trafficked 150,000 Africans. Also on the route is the Guildhall, location of the Zong case of 1781, which exposed how a Liverpool slave trader threw 133 slaves overboard to claim insurance. The decision by the then Lord Chief Justice not to rule the deaths as murder led to angry protests and helped spread support for the abolitionist cause.

Dr William Pettigrew, History Lecturer at University of Kent, said: “'London's role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade has been understated for far too long. London and Londoners provided the ideas, the institutions, the will as well as the money to perfect the slave trade long before providing the setting for its abolition.”

We end the walk at a historic pub - offering the opportunity to chat to other walkers and learn more about Amnesty International's work.

This walk starts outside The Distillers - a pub at 66 West Smithfield (close to Barbican Tube station - turn right and go down Long Lane). The walk will end close to St Paul's. The walk will be about two hours long.

For more Information and Booking, please go to: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/6690255735#