Mwansa Samantha Musaba

Samantha is undertaking a graduate work placement to understand more about the links between the cotton mills and slavery.  Her focus is on the role of enslaved women in cotton cultivation and how their lives were different to those British women working in cotton mills.

“Before coming into this project, I was firstly under the misconception that enslaved women were being forced to labour in British cotton mills. Although there had been scattered accounts of slaves in Britain, I realised that my initial assumption was incorrect and that the research was more-so based on the hidden contribution that enslaved black women gave the British economy through their labour in the Americas as well as the Caribbean. Cotton was being cultivated, picked and processed by women in America, Brazil and the Caribbean for use in British cotton mills. When I had this revelation for myself, I was stunned. Stunned at how ‘played down’ Britain’s involvement with the Transatlantic Slave Trade was and is up until now.

I firstly hope to gage some understanding of the real experiences that the enslaved people went through. Though it will be hard, I’d like to find primary accounts or quotes at the very least, taken from the people in question, rather than to depend solely on the often ‘diluted’ retelling of their experiences. I would also like to see the extent to which Britain was involved and try to understand why their involvement was looked over. More than anything, I’m excited to document my findings and to even commemorate the memories of the resilient African women who came before me.”

Watch Samantha’s film below:

Ruth Gray

Ruth Gray has been a professional mixed media artist for nearly twenty years. Her town and landscape paintings portray her love of history and heritage. She is a community artist who works with local organisations on heritage-related creative projects and she facilitates art workshops with a history twist for all ages and is hoping to develop this side of her work more in the future.

Ruth’s art has been shown in many exhibitions nationally and internationally and has featured in magazines and news publications.
Ruth is an affiliate of The Peak District Artisans and Banks Mill Studios in Derby and a professional gold member of the Society for All Artists and museum association member. Ruth has recently completed an MA in Public History and Heritage from the University of Derby and works as a freelance heritage assistant nationally and volunteers within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. This allows her to visit many new places and spend time in some wonderful venues many who feature and inspire her artwork.

Ben Abbott

I am a 23 year old graduate from Nottinghamshire. I studied at the University of Derby where I completed an Undergraduate degree in History and a Masters degree in Public History and Heritage. My passion for history is deeply rooted in the working-class culture of the early-nineteenth-century and the radical political culture which surrounded it, including the Luddites, Peterloo Massacre and the Chartists. My Postgraduate dissertation focused primarily on the Luddite movement in Nottinghamshire from 1811 to 1817 and its continued relevance to contemporary civic identity in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. I have worked with the Legacy Makers project as part of my studies in the form of a consultancy and I am continuing my involvement through a graduate scheme. The Legacy Makers project is extremely important to me as it can help uncover the everyday stories of mill workers and slaves who have been forgotten behind the grand narratives of colonialism and industrial progress.

Podcast and Being Human

As part of his internship, Ben was given the opportunity to take part in a podcast exploring the history of Darley Abbey and its relation to the rest of the world as part of the Being Human Festival. Being Human is the UK’s only national festival of the humanities which takes place 12-22 November. Dr. Cath Feely from the University of Derby has been exploring Derby’s historical links with the rest of the world through 10 objects and Ben has helped explore the significance of a commemorative cotton reel from Darley Abbey Mill.