In 2006, Anti-Slavery International digitised its collection of 18th and 19th century literature on the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Recovered Histories captures the narratives of the enslaved, enslavers, slave ship surgeons, abolitionists, parliamentarians, clergy, planters and rebels.

Use the themed narratives as starting points or browse the Collection to explore nearly 800 pamphlets and over 40,000 pages in the collection. You can also search by title, author and date.

Recovered Histories was a project funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.

About this website

The Recovered Histories website gives an insight into the history of enslavement and those who fought to maintain and abolish it.

The collection of pamphlets and supplementary texts within Recovered Histories covers a century of campaigning in Europe and America, capturing the voices of the enslaved, enslavers, slave ship surgeons, abolitionists, parliamentarians, the clergy, planters and rebels. It chronicles enslavement as an institution and a way of living, the brutality and horror of it, the Middle Passage and triangular trade, arguments condemning and supporting it, evidence gathered to present to Parliament, illustrations of life on the plantations, and details of rebellions in the Caribbean and the attempts by many enslaved Africans to liberate themselves and become self determinate. The application of the Bible to abolitionist and pro-slavery arguments, Parliamentary speeches and evidence against the system of apprenticeship is also featured.

The writings of British abolitionists Thomas Clarkson, Zachary Macaulay, James Ramsay, James Stephen, Elizabeth Heyrick and William Wilberforce can all be found here, as well as their American counterparts, including William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass and Angelina Grimke.

Users can search the collection by keyword, title, author or date; or simply browse the collection from beginning to end.

The site provides a wealth of resources for those interested in studying the Transatlantic Slave Trade and also provides a starting point for those who have little or no knowledge of Britain’s involvement in the trafficking of Africans and the abolition movement.

  • Key narratives have been identified, enabling the reader to easily navigate through the texts thematically (Africa, Capture and Enslavement etc) , whilst background pages provide context, activities encourage understanding, and a glossary explains unfamiliar terminology.
  • The Timeline Tour encourage browsers to use the site by demonstrating the collections relevance to historical events and themes.
  • There is also an educational resources list for those who wish to learn more.

Partners in the Recovered Histories project, ODAC UK have used these resources to produce animations (coming soon) and comics to bring the narratives to life.

Anti-Slavery International encourages users to create their own resources using this site as raw material.

Recovered Histories Outreach Project

Throughout 2007 and 2008 talks and presentations were facilitated by the outreach officer and education officer for a range of organisations. This report details this programme and highlights the national seminars.

Recovered Histories Outreach Project Final Report, April 2009 (PDF)Download

Recovered Histories Education Project

The education aspect of the project consisted of a series of four teacher training days, schools outreach, a conference and the production of an education resource. This report provides details.

Recovered Histories Education Project Final Report, April 2009 (PDF)Download

Recovered Histories Project Partners and acknowledgements