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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Mahogany
T2 - a historical geography of a lasting commodity of 18th-century enslavement
AU - Walker, Gordon
AU - Crawford, Bronte
PY - 2024/12/31
Y1 - 2024/12/31
N2 - It might be assumed that the commodities produced by enslaved labour in the British colonies in the 18th century were consumed long ago. Mahogany wood, however, endures and challenges this assumption. Slave labour was used to cut mahogany trees and prepare the timber for transporting to European and North American markets. When made into fine furniture and fittings this same mahogany has been admired and preserved through to the present day. We explore how mahogany was part of the geography of colonial trade and wealth-making by drawing on research focused on Lancaster in north-west England, the UK’s fourth largest slave trading port. We trace the extended geographies and lines of connection that were produced by the interlinked trades in enslaved African people and mahogany wood, and, through this focus on Lancaster, we provide an example of how colonialism shaped the economy and narrative of places in Britain. Contemporary responses within heritage settings and the implications for the continuing trade in antique mahogany furniture are also considered.
AB - It might be assumed that the commodities produced by enslaved labour in the British colonies in the 18th century were consumed long ago. Mahogany wood, however, endures and challenges this assumption. Slave labour was used to cut mahogany trees and prepare the timber for transporting to European and North American markets. When made into fine furniture and fittings this same mahogany has been admired and preserved through to the present day. We explore how mahogany was part of the geography of colonial trade and wealth-making by drawing on research focused on Lancaster in north-west England, the UK’s fourth largest slave trading port. We trace the extended geographies and lines of connection that were produced by the interlinked trades in enslaved African people and mahogany wood, and, through this focus on Lancaster, we provide an example of how colonialism shaped the economy and narrative of places in Britain. Contemporary responses within heritage settings and the implications for the continuing trade in antique mahogany furniture are also considered.
KW - enslavement
KW - heritage
KW - Lancaster
KW - mahogany
KW - trade
U2 - 10.1080/00167487.2024.2395180
DO - 10.1080/00167487.2024.2395180
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85205764118
VL - 109
SP - 163
EP - 168
JO - Geography
JF - Geography
SN - 0016-7487
IS - 3
ER -