This report investigates the links that the University has with the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans to inform how the University engages with debates about the legacies of the past.

In order to understand the past, we need to place the University of Bristol within the broader context of Britain's colonial history and analyse how the past has shaped current discussions about identity, social and racial inequalities.

Debates about Britain's involvement in the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans have been the subject of numerous academic research projects in the last century or so. In the 20th century, scholars from various backgrounds focused on the economic impact of the slave trade on the nation's wealth. The scholarship seldomly examined the ways in which slavery profoundly shaped British society and the role it played on consumption, culture, citizenship, social cohesion and inequalities. In the last 20 years and in the global context of demands for forms of reparations from former colonies, several institutions from the banking industry, theatres, to universities and several others, have been engaging with discussions about their role in the transatlantic slave trade and the negative legacies of the past.

Over the last decade, the University of Bristol have been engaging with staff and students about its links with the history of enslavement and its initiatives to address the legacies of the past. Discussions highlighted the need to address difficult histories such as the historical links with slavery, buildings named after individuals who had links with an economy based on the labour of enslaved people. The University has taken direct action to address systemic disadvantages in education through the launch of the Black Bristol Scholarship Programme. It is engaging with discussions about eradicating racism and exclusion, and exploring more opportunities for staff, students and the community to engage with the production of knowledge.

This report follows similar studies undertaken by other universities such as Glasgow, Oxford and UCL, and explores two key areas specific to the University of Bristol:

• The founding of the University, the University College Bristol and its network of interests, and
• Key families related to the history of slavery in Bristol, represented in our logo and the fabric of our estate.