Cymraeg

The Welsh and American Slavery

Places to visit - Bristol

Bristol and the slave trade

Jerry Hunter on
Redcliffe Wharf, Bristol

Street names in the centre of Bristol, such as Guinea Street and Jamaica Street and the Sugar Loaf pub, testify to the importance of trans-Atlantic trade as this city developed, particularly the slave trade. 2108 ships sailed from Bristol between 1698 and 1807. In 1749 alone, almost fifty set sail.

How many Welsh sailors were there among the crews of these ships, bearing in mind the maritime connections between Bristol and South East Wales? Welsh Back Quay is one of the oldest in Bristol, and it is here that the ships from Wales came. The names of pubs such as the Velindre and the Llandoger Trow in the centre of the city also testify to a Welsh presence.

Towers of Bristol churches
The city's bells were rung to
celebrate the failure of the
Wilberforce Bill in 1791

We know of one Welshman who came here to work, but not to make money from the slave trade. It is said that, when Iolo Morgannwg realised how much the traders of Bristol opposed abolition of the slave trade, he left the city straight away!

The city is now starting to come to terms with its past.

In 1999, an exhibition entitled "A Respectable Trade?" was held to discuss the city's role in the international slave trade, and it is recorded on discoveringbristol.org.uk
The Bristol Slave Trade Walk starts from the Bristol Industrial Museum on Princes Wharf and visits forty different locations associated with the slave trade.
The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum. The museum includes a section about the role of slavery in the development of the empire, and is preparing an exhibition entitled "Breaking the Chains" to celebrate the bi-centenary of the abolition of the international slave trade in 2007. empiremuseum.co.uk