In this powerful history of the University of Cambridge, Nicolas Bell-Romero considers the nature and extent of Britain's connections to enslavement. His research moves beyond traditional approaches which focus on direct and indirect economic ties to enslavement or on the slave trading hubs of Liverpool and Bristol. From the beginnings of North American colonisation to the end of the American Civil War, the story of Cambridge reveals the vast spectrum of interconnections that university students, alumni, fellows, professors, and benefactors had to Britain's Atlantic slave empire - in dining halls, debating chambers, scientific societies or lobby groups. Following the stories of these middling and elite men as they became influential agents around the empire, Bell-Romero uncovers the extent to which the problem of slavery was an inextricable feature of social, economic, cultural, and intellectual life. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

‘A new and important historical account of British academic life which shows that the academic community’s ties to transatlantic slavery were umbilical and myriad. A nuanced account which shows that these connections were highly varied: at times personal, and at other times cultural, economic and political. Not only did Cambridge educate enslavers, but students, alumni, professors and donors engaged in the slavery system at many levels, trading in enslaved people, owning plantations, becoming merchants and defending slavery morally, legally and philosophically.’

Corinne Fowler - author of Our Island Stories: Country Walks Through Colonial Britain 

‘The relationship between British universities and slavery has been a source of considerable recent debate, but has generated more heat than light. By illuminating one institution’s engagement with trade in and ownership of the enslaved but also with missionisation, abolitionism, and elite formation, Bell-Romero offers a model for further enquiries.’

Natalie Zacek - author of Settler Society in the English Leeward Islands, 1670–1776