Black Atlantic

An important illustrated history of the relationship between Cambridge and the Black Atlantic.Published to coincide with and accompany a ground-breaking exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, and based on new interdisciplinary research, this book presents a radical new visual and material history of the University of Cambridge and its collections. It critically investigates the interconnections between Cambridge, a landlocked city in East Anglia, and the Black Atlantic, the space that emerged when European empires colonised the Americas and transported over 12.5 million captives from Africa to these colonies as slaves between 1400 and 1900. Through the lens of historic artworks and objects mainly from Cambridge collections, it analyses the growth and rise of enslavement, the profits made by European traders and plantation-owners, the erased knowledge produced by enslaved people, resistance movements and the enduring legacies of these events and people.At its heart is a story of Cambridgeshire and the city of Cambridge but this is very far from a local story. Cambridge sits at the heart of an international network - of commerce and colonialism, of opinion-forming, and of struggle - that traces a global history of the Atlantic world for over 500 years. These entangled histories are enriched and paralleled by untold or forgotten histories of Black and Indigenous making and resistance, and with works by contemporary makers that challenge and create alternative narratives of repair and freedom. Reflection-pieces from respected scholars, curators and contemporary artists provide multi-vocality and diverse perspectives, allowing us to 'read' objects and works of art more completely and to appreciate the power of historic and contemporary objects and images.