Isle of Man profited greatly from 18c slave trade [audio 1st 10min]
"Making History" presenter Nick Baker and the actor and writer Kwame Kwei Armah contimue their journey to take in the three UK locales associated with slavery by visiting the Isle of Man. No slaving ships ever actually set sail from the IoM. Its connection is that because of its political independence at the time of the slave trade, it was able to dictate the amount of tax on imported goods -- the Dukes of Athol, who controlled the island, imposed a low level of tax, making goods cheaper than the East India Company, so slave traders would come to the Isle of Man to buy cheap goods to exchange for slaves in Africa. Although the slave connection is indirect, many islanders profited greatly from money earned from the international trade in slaves."Making History" consulted historian Frances Wilkins, author of Manx Slave Traders: A Social History of the Isle of Man's Role in the Atlantic Slave Trade (Wyre Forest Press), and IoM historian Frank Cowin. Kwame Kwei Armah, who was born Ian Roberts in London, changed his name after researching his genealogy from the slave trade to his family's African roots.
Read entire article at BBC Radio 4 "Making History"