“Lancaster was the fourth largest slaving port in the United Kingdom…the Transatlantic Slave Trade was participated in, either directly or indirectly, by most trades and professions in Lancaster.”

Facing the Past, a cultural heritage project that delves into Lancaster’s historical links to the Transatlantic Slave Trade, has just launched on the Humap platform.

This resource will allow users to discover the locations of former slave trading hubs, monuments, and other significant sites – as well as first-hand accounts – while providing context and historical information about these places and stories.

In addition to the map, the project team is executing a series of city-wide creative activities throughout 2023.


From the project website: “through these different media, we hope to broaden existing narratives by focusing on the voices of those people who were enslaved. The erasure of their history has continued to dehumanise them, and black people continue to suffer racism that is rooted in the trading of human lives. It is this racism that has allowed systems of consumerism, without consideration for the global inequalities they maintain, to go largely unquestioned. ”

This project is a collaboration between the University of Central Lancashire, The Lancaster Priory, Lancaster City Council, Smartify & several freelance freelance artists, heritage professionals and educators. Facing the Past is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

We invite you to join us on this journey of discovery and learning, and we hope that this project will be a valuable resource for everyone interested in the history of the transatlantic slave trade and its impact on Lancashire.