David Olusoga is fronting a two-part history commission at BBC Two and BBC iPlayer about the individuals, institutions, and organizations that financed Britain’s trade in enslaved Africans, tracing the practice from the 16th century until it was abolished in 1807.
Finding Britain’s Slave Traders with David Olusoga is based on exclusive access to the findings of a new academic research project, led by Professor William Pettigrew, that has built a database of British slave traders. Is a Hillgate Films and Voltage TV co-production.
“This new series is a follow-up to a series we made over a decade ago: Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners,” Olusoga said. “Both series have been built on the very latest academic research that allows us to reveal new details from our expanding understanding of slavery and the slave trade. Like the previous series, Finding Britain’s Slave Traders presents the granular details and human stories that lie at the center of this vast and complicated history.”
Francis Welch, Series Director at Voltage TV, added, “This new research has built a paper trail that led us to some of the most famous names in British history and into the heart of some of the country’s best-known institutions. It was a journey that took us from archives and libraries across Britain to former slave fortresses in West Africa.”
