Liberty Paterson (@libertypaterson.bsky.social)

@aljhlester Of course will do!

@LibertyPaterson Would love to talk too- would you mind emailing me?

I'm a firm believer in purveying under-appreciated historical research on British colonialism to as wide a range of audiences as possible. I think there's more to be gained by preaching beyond the choir. So today I gave an after lunch talk to the Uckfield branch of PROBUS - a club for mainly retired businessmen and professionals. My title was 'Uckfield and Slavery'. The talk was based on a letter relating to an African broker in the slave trade that had turned up in an Uckfield attic and the ucl.ac.uk/lbs/project/de… records of compensation recipients in the area. I feared it was going to be a tough crowd. Even during the lunch my neighbour told me he wished the @nationaltrust would stop 'pointing the finger' at former slave owning families (he used to read the @Telegraph but had abandoned it for the @thetimes because it had become too right wing). I heard snatches of conversation such as 'the Arabs were worse than us', 'maybe we should get reparations from the Romans' and 'there's always been slavery, so what's the point of this'? I have rarely been so nervous when the toast to the King was made and I was introduced. It turned out to be a very interesting afternoon. I tried to deliver the talk in a 'neutral', factual matter, using slavevoyages.org/tracing to trace the ship with which the local document was associated (The Harriet out of Liverpool, Capt Irwin, 1807), acknowledging the help of colleagues who helped me decipher and interpret, and discussing the connections between slave-ownership and iron working in the Sussex Weald, among other things. Taking questions and in conversation afterwards, these things stood out for me: 1. Most of the group knew very little about slavery and the slave trade, let alone the extensive engagement of even 'parochial' British towns and communities. 2. Some people will always be resistant to discussing it, seeing it as a provocative criticism of who they are. 3. Most wanted reassurance that no one was associating them personally with slavery or seeking to hold them personally to account. With that settled, they took a genuine interest in discovering an aspect of local history that was entirely new and unexpected. Unless they were just being polite whilst seething inside, which is quite possible. 4. Some were shocked that historians have been called 'anti-British' and unpatriotic for talking about these histories. They remained less sympathetic to activists who have brought them to public attention. 5. A few at least understood Colston's toppling a little better, or at least that's what they indicated. Little wins, possibly.

Brilliant 3 month opportunity for a PhD student to access the archives of Rugby & St Paul’s Schools to explore histories of empire. Builds in creative & public history outcomes as well as research experience. Application details in the link:

We've extended the CfP deadline to *11:59pm GMT on 5 June 2024* Last chance to send us your abstracts for the workshop @NPGLondon

Just over 2 weeks left to submit your abstract for 'The British Empire in the Art Gallery' workshop @NPGLondon

CfP: 'The British Empire in the Art Gallery: Discourses, Practices, Publics' 📌@NPGLondon 27 Sept 2024 Deadline: 31 May Join us to critically discuss the empire and the art gallery. Organised by @sean_cham_ and I with @MuseumsBirkbeck. See: tinyurl.com/beagworkshop Pls share!

To coincide with today’s bicentenary of the beginning of the Demerara uprising (18 August 1823), I have just published a paper with @HistoryPolicy, co-authored with Dr James Dawkins (Lancaster University). historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/…

200 yrs ago today (18 Aug 1823) witnessed the outbreak of the Demerara uprising, as thousands of enslaved people across some forty estates rose up to demand their 'rights' & their 'freedom'. One of the largest & most consequential revolts in the history of the British Caribbean.

@davepaters Beautiful!

‘Slowly, over time, I tried to absorb what my whiteness signified, both before and after empire.’ Catherine Hall, a historian of the legacies of British slavery (and wife of Jamaican-born cultural theorist Stuart Hall) returns to Jamaica: lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/…

Windrush ‘pardner hand’ saving scheme celebrated at Bank of England Museum dlvr.it/SqlgXH

I'll be sharing some of my work on the early trustees of the @NPGLondon this Thursday in a seminar with @sean_cham_. Register below to join us online.

@hannahcusworth Oh no! Hope this week is better my love x

10/10 would not recommend getting COVID while pregnant, especially if you’ve been dealing with pregnancy health anxiety 😭 Thankfully, I’m on the mend and baby seems nice and wriggly still. Last week wasn’t the one so hoping for better days 🙏🏾

DROP EVERYTHING! 🚨 A new novel by the incomparable Women's Prize-winner #ZadieSmith is a treat not to be missed... #TheFraud coming to all good bookshops on 7th September: bit.ly/TheFraudZadieS…

Hannah Young has shown how the Chandos family is an example of female slave-ownership eprints.soton.ac.uk/433890/

For more on Andrew Bogle's life story see Joy Lumsden's article: jamaica-history.weebly.com/andrew-bogle.h… and this blog by Hampshire Archives: …archivesandlocalstudies.wordpress.com/2021/10/22/fro…

Can't wait to read this! Andrew Bogle's portrait is in the @NPGLondon. Have been researching him while looking at the Gallery's legacies of enslavement. He was previously enslaved by the Chandos family who owned the NPG's "Chandos portrait" of Shakespeare. npg.org.uk/collections/se…

A great day working with the dream team ✨ thanks to @CDPConnect for all the support and everyone who took part.

🎉🎉🎉