Georgetown University in Washington DC, the oldest Catholic and Jesuit-affiliated university in the United States, has helped lead the way for universities to examine and make reparation for their past involvement in the slave trade. In 2017, Georgetown and the Jesuits apologised for the sale of 272 African slaves in 1838. Buildings have been renamed, research on slavery continues, and this year Georgetown students voted in a non-binding referendum to contribute to reparation funds through their university fees. In the United Kingdom, universities that benefited from the slave trade are making their own efforts at reparation – but each in their own way, and in response to their own history. As examples, the Universities of Glasgow and Bristol outline their current reparation programmes
The history of the University of Glasgow stretches back almost six centuries – through the Reformation, the Jacobite Risings, the Glorious Revolution, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution and two world wars, writes David Duncan. Ours is a rich history, interwoven with the story of Scotland and with much to be proud of. But there are also aspects of our past which it might be tempting to forget; and the way the university benefited from the proceeds of slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is a standout example.
Even here, there are glints of light – a Glasgow professor, Adam Smith, included a ringing condemnation of slavery in his 1776 work, The Wealth of Nations; Glasgow’s professors petitioned Parliament to abolish slavery; and the university awarded an honorary degree to the abolitionist William Wilberforce, in the teeth of opposition from some local merchants.
On the other hand, Glasgow University accepted many donations from individuals who owned enslaved people or who profited from slave-based activities. To assess the scale of the issue, the university’s senior management commissioned a detailed study of the archival records. This suggested that the university had benefited financially from Scottish slave traders in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by between £16.7 million and £198m in today’s money.
