Freedom’s Debt: The Politics of the Atlantic Slave Trade (1672 – 1752)
This talk will discuss the parts played by freedom and liberty in developing England’s contribution to the trans-Atlantic trade in enslaved Africans. It argues that Britain’s relationship with slavery has largely been viewed in terms of Britain’s contribution to the abolition of the trade. It suggests that British identity, British ideas, British institutions did much to […]
A British-Owned Congo: Roger Casement’s Battle with Slavery in Peru (1910-1914)
Roger Casement was the twentieth century’s first outstanding humanitarian. Best known for his 1904 chilling report on conditions in King Leopold’s Congo, Casement continued his campaign for human rights in the Putumayo Valley bordering Peru and Colombia, where a rubber company with headquarters in London was abusing and murdering indigenous people on a massive scale […]
Identifying Unfinished Business: The UK Modern Slavery Act (2015)
Almost two hundred years after the anti-slavery legislation associated with William Wilberforce, the UK government passed the Modern Slavery Act, acknowledging the fact that slavery had never really gone away. What is different now is that “modern slavery”, is present within the UK itself rather than in far-flung countries where Britons preferred to overlook working […]
First Prime Minister of the London Empire: William Beckford, Jamaican Planter & Lord Mayor of London (1709 – 1770)
This talk examines the life of William Beckford, twice Lord Mayor of London, and one of the largest slave-owners in the British Empire. In a remarkable political career, he gained fame as a proponent of British liberties, while overseeing a transatlantic family business founded on colonial slavery. The talk will seek to demonstrate how these apparent contradictions […]
London Thinks – Facts and Fantasy About Your Diet and Health
When most of us hear the word “genome” we think of human DNA, the material that was long seen as the blueprint of human health and disease. Today, we know that there are many more factors than our DNA that make us who we are, including our lifestyles, our emotions, our environments. But there is […]
Evidence Matters – Accountable Elections, Effective Politics
Prateek Buch After telling us a little about Sense about Science, Prateek Buch will focus on how asking for evidence can increase public pressure on politicians to use evidence effectively and transparently. This is particularly apt now that the general election is over. Prateek will draw on topical examples, celebrating where it’s done well (MPs […]
The Unfortunate Colonel Despard: “Governor of Belize”, Anti-racist, Democrat, Executed as a Traitor 1803
Colonel Edward Despard was executed in London in 1803 as a terrorist and traitor. However, the seeds of his radicalism were sown on the other side of the world, during his military service in the Caribbean. A patriotic war hero who fought alongside Nelson, he fell from favour with the British government after he was […]
George Hibbert M.P. (1757-1837) and the Defence of British Slavery
George Hibbert was an early and powerful defender of the slave trade and later slavery. He was a Chairman of the West India Merchants Society, a Member of Parliament between 1806-1812, and Agent for Jamaica between 1812-1832. His family had been involved with the business of slavery for generations. As early as 1790 he campaigned […]
Sex Talk
Matthew Hodson, Chief Executive of GMFA (The Gay Men’s Health Charity), hosts a special evening that will see him speaking on the current state of gay men’s sexual health, and on the work carried out by GMFA. Matthew will also be hosting a Q&A session dealing with sex and sexual health among gay men. WARNING: […]