The National Archives has been awarded a £1 million grant by Lloyd’s Register Foundation for a new, collaborative research programme on the history of the transatlantic trade in enslaved people.
PASSAGE (Partnership for Transatlantic Slavery Scholarship, Archiving and Global Exchange) will connect scholars and archival collections at The National Archives, Lloyd’s Register Foundation, and other archives to enhance and develop the knowledge we already have of the maritime trade of enslaved Africans.
The first year of the project will be spent consulting with research communities in West Africa and the Caribbean to co-design an international research mobility programme based on the needs of researchers from these two regions.
Saul Nassé, Chief Executive, The National Archives said:
“The records in The National Archives and other institutions across the globe have not been fully researched. This project allows us to open records, working in partnership with scholars who are part of communities which were affected by the trade in enslaved people. It is important to collaborate with and facilitate the research of these scholars as they are crucial to interpreting and preserving records of enslavement in an ethical way.”
Alex Stitt, Director of Heritage at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, added: “We are on our own journey of researching and confronting the historical connections of Lloyd’s Register to transatlantic slavery. As an organisation that played a role in the maritime system that enabled the slave economy, it is vital that we acknowledge this past, and support those affected by its legacy. One way we are well-placed to do so is by sharing our own archives and supporting expert partners like the National Archives to do the same, helping descendants of the enslaved to uncover and tell their stories.”
One of the main aims of PASSAGE is to overcome the significant barriers which exist for those researching the history of the transatlantic trade. Many archival collections are difficult to access for researchers because of a lack of detailed catalogue descriptions and because related material can be separated across different archives. For scholars based in West Africa and the Caribbean it is even more challenging, as primary source material is often only available in paper copy in Europe and America.
PASSAGE seeks to tackle these challenges by combining archival research, which will develop new scholarship, digital outputs and data in The National Archives’ online catalogue, Discovery, with the research mobility programme to create greater and easier access to the records.
If you are a researcher, especially from West Africa or the Caribbean and want to hear more about the project and how you can be involved, please contact research@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
For insights into the types of records we hold at The National Archives, you can explore the transatlantic slavery collection gallery and read about recent cataloguing work on the Detached Papers of the Company of Merchants Trading to Africa.
For media enquiries, please call The National Archives media team on 020 8392 5277 or email press@nationalarchives.gov.uk
For more information about the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage Centre, please visit the Heritage Centre Website
