Slavery Collections at Wilberforce House
#SUBHEADING#Slavery collections#SUBHEADINGEND# Wilberforce House has many objects relating to slavery and the campaign for its abolition. The collection strengths lie in plantation records and anti-slavery material. The museum also has receipts for slave sales, slavery auction posters and items used in the enslavement, imprisonment and branding of enslaved Africans. A visit to Wilberforce House takes the visitor through from the origins of slavery, the transportation of slaves in the transatlantic slave trade, their life on the plantations including the rebellions and revolts of slave communities, and the Parliamentary campaign. Contemporary forms of slavery and human rights are also explored using the collection and audio-visual material. #IMAGE# The museum displays are fortunate to have a number of important loans in its displays. Follow the links on the Web to see some of the items in the museums own collections relating to slavery and its abolition. #SUBHEADING#West African Cultures#SUBHEADINGEND# West Africa was home to many different states and kingdoms with a variety of cultures. The transatlantic slave trade uprooted people from their homes and took them to foreign lands. Enslaved people left slave ships without any belongings, but they successfully carried with them religion, music and memories of Africa. West African textiles have always been decorative. During the slave trade Kente cloth was a highly valued textile which is still very popular in modern Ghana. The museum has three pieces of Kente cloth on display in the galleries. Their bright colours and varied patterns help to create a strong sense of cultural identity. The museum also has a Benin Bronze in the collection. The kingdoms of Benin and Asante built up great wealth through trade with Europeans. The royal guild of Benin bronze casters decorated the Oba or King's palace with intricate brass plaques to show their wealth. This Benin bronze, in two pieces, shows two men; one is holding a ball and the other is holding a musical instrument.
William Wilberforce - the man (part 2)
Read about the impact of Wilberforce's university days and his career in politics.
William Wilberforce - the man (part 1)
Discover more about at the Wilberforce Family and William Wilberforce's early years.
Wilberforce House and Hull
Wilberforce House has had a rich and varied history. It had a prime location in the heart of the old city centre on the banks of the River Hull, which made it ideal for the Wilberforce famliy's merchant business. During its lifetime it has also been used as a private residence, a business premises, and lastly as Hull's oldest surviving Museum. This section explores the life of Wilberforce House, its residents and uses, and its position within the town itself.
Slavery Collections
Hull Museums has many objects relating to slavery and the campaign for its abolition; including paper documents, plantation and slavery records, wedgwood medallions and anti-slavery ceramics. The museums also have collections representing the diversity of richness of West African Cultures prior to Western Slavery. This section explores the interesting and varied Slavery collections, what they can tell us about the history of Slavery and insights they can give into the horrors of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade.
Enslavement and Plantation Life
Read about the horrific conditions that slaves endured on board slave ships in the Middle Passage and how they were met with discipline and harsh punishment once they arrived at the plantations.
Slavery Collections at Wilberforce House
Wilberforce House has many objects relating to slavery and the campaign for its abolition. The collection strengths lie in plantation records and anti-slavery material. Read on to discover more about the slavery collections at Wilberforce House.
The Campaign Against Slavery
Read about the parliamentary campaign to abolish slavery, womens role in the anti-slavery fight and how growing opposition among the public led to a boycott of sugar produced on plantations.
The Wilberforce Monument
William Wilberforce, MP for Yorkshire and passionate campaigner against the slave trade, was commemorated after is death with a monument paid for by public donation. But who designed it? How tall is it? And how much did it cost to buy? Read on and find out.
Moving the Wilberforce Monument in 1935
William Wilberforce's monument had become a motoring hazard by the 1930s and it needed to be moved to a new, more convenient location. Find out who moved the monument and what secrets are buried beneath...
Slavery Collections at Wilberforce House
Wilberforce House has many objects relating to slavery and the campaign for its abolition. The collection strengths lie in plantation records and anti-slavery material. Read on to discover more about the slavery collections at Wilberforce House.
Wilberforce Bible - Uncovering the Family Secrets
Read about the bibles that were once owned by William Wilberforce (1759-1833) and are now on display in Wilberforce House Museum.
The Freedom Centrepiece 2007
In 2006 Hull Museums commissioned silversmith Jocelyn Burton to produce a major silver centrepiece. This was part of the commemorations for the bi-centenary of the abolition of the slave trade in 2007. This will be a lasting testament to freedom and will hopefully be around for the tercentenary. The centrepiece was funded by the Alderman Rupert Alec-Smith Fund and the Wilberforce 2007 Programme.
Thomas Thompson (1754 - 1828)
Thomas Thompson was a local businessman and MP, who resided at 25 High Street, now Wilberforce House Museum, for nearly forty years. In 1770 at the age of 16 he went to work as a Clerk to William Wilberforce (senior) in what later became a branch of Wilberforce, Smith & Co Bank.
William Wilberforce - the man (part 1)
Discover more about at the Wilberforce Family and William Wilberforce's early years.
William Wilberforce - the man (part 2)
Read about the impact of Wilberforce's university days and his career in politics.
