Exeter and African enslavement 1560–1914 (Exeter Branch)

A talk by Todd Gray.

Dr Gray’s talk will largely be based on his recent books – Devon and the Slave Trade and Devon’s Last Slave Owners – in which he unravels the county’s entanglements with slavery. These works are centred on documents, voyages, estates, plantations, compensation and emancipation. He challenges myths, finding Devon accounted for a mere 0.3 % of recorded slave voyages and that far more white Devonians suffered enslavement by North African pirates than vice versa. He also reveals that affluent, former slave owners retired to seaside Devon and received generous compensation post 1834. He invites scrutiny of evidence over assertion and advocates informed reflection on Devon’s colonial legacy.

The entrance fee, including tea and biscuits, is £3 per person for DA members and £5 for non-members.