Museum of British Colonialism

You can see previous entries into our series on our website museumofbritishcolonialism.org/papertrails/

Are you a student or early career researcher of British colonialism with research that you want to share? We're now open for submissions for our Paper Trails series until 6 January 2026!

Esme's blog is the second in a three part series hosted on our website. Sign up to get the latest updates direct into your inbox! museumofbritishcolonialism.org

You can read more about imperial appropriation of indigenous knowledge in Esme's previous blog on our website. museumofbritishcolonialism.org/planting-power…

In the second instalment of her blog series concerning the botany and the British Empire, Esme Barrell reflects on the colonial roots of the Royal Botanical Gardens and the appropriation of Indigenous botanical knowledge by British scientists. museumofbritishcolonialism.org/red-bark-and-e…

The court case shook the very foundations of the British establishment by exposing a vast cover-up of Britain's colonial crimes and revolutionised how we view colonial history forever.

In 2009, Kenyan war veterans sued the British Government over the actions of the colonial regime in Kenya during the Mau Mau Uprising. In 2018, we produced a documentary with HistoryHit to tell their incredible story. You can see the documentary here: youtu.be/B2ETXDBB45c?si…

This work was carried out by researchers from the @UniofNewcastle and @LeverhulmeTrust and will be exhibited on MBC's main website here museumofbritishcolonialism.org/support/

This exhibition explores sites in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, examining what happened to them after the end of colonial rule and how they are remebered today.

Starting this week, MBC's website will host an online exhibition exploring the afterlives of colonial incarceration sites in Africa.

Find us here at bsky.app/profile/museum…

Are you on the other place? If you are, give us a follow! Over the next few months, we will be filling our page with amazing content from our team across the globe.

The Afterlives of Colonial Incarceration Exhibition is on ! Currently starting at the University of Nairobi, Department of History & Archaeology, for the International Conference on The Mau Mau Movement until Friday! Please join us for a tour.

You've got until 28 October to get your submissions in for our Paper Trails interview series. We'd love to hear from you!

Our next Paper Trails interview is here! Read about the work of Anthony Maina. Over many years Anthony has acquired a wealth of knowledge about Mau Mau history which he has generously shared with MBC and other researchers. museumofbritishcolonialism.org/paper-trails-a…

Very excited to be giving a talk on my research into British-colonial detention camps in Kenya as part of Black History Month Scotland #BHM24 next month! Thank you to @crer_scotland and @EdinCulture for hosting - free tickets below ⬇️ eventbrite.co.uk/e/memory-mater…

Our next open call for our Paper Trails interview series is live! Historians, artists, architects, and more, we'd love to hear from you. You can find out more about Paper Trails here: museumofbritishcolonialism.org/papertrails/

London followers! Don't miss this👇 This documentary amplifies the story of the Egba Women’s Revolt, when, in 1947, 10,000 Abeokuta women organised strikes and protests against British colonial taxation.

@hannahmcln @SDVisitors Our exhibition is now open until 8 August. Be sure to come down to the Alchemy Experiment and see it for yourself if you are in Glasgow.

@hannahmcln Our second speaker Kate Alexander, Director of @SDVisitors, speaks about the experience of detainees at Dungavel detention centre and the purposes of the immigration detention-complex in the modern UK as instruments of political signalling and punishment.

Our opening reception is getting underway now at the Alchemy Experiment