London, Sugar & Slavery: 1600 – present

Only ships registered in Liverpool, Bahia and Rio de Janeiro trafficked more African men, women and children into slavery. But it was London that benefited most from slavery’s profits.

Profits flooded into banks, insurance and the government. It funded shipbuilding, contracting, dock building and business. In short, slavery became part of London's fabric.

The campaign to end slavery gained momentum. Enslaved people in the Caribbean rebelled, helping to undermine profits. And in London, people shared anti-slavery literature and stopped buying sugar.

Slavery in the British empire eventually became illegal in 1833. However, plantation owners then introduced ‘apprenticeships’. The apprenticeship system didn't work and people were still treated inhumanely like ‘slaves’. It was finally scrapped five years later.

In this gallery, you'll hear about the lives and stories of some of the people affected by slavery. The gallery was created in 2007 and is one of the only permanent UK displays dedicated to the British trade in enslaved Africans.