LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The University of Cambridge announced an investigation into its own historical links with the Atlantic slave trade and other forms of coerced labor during the colonial era.
The two-year inquiry will examine University archives and a wide range of other records to find if the esteemed educational institution's departments, libraries and museums might have gained financially from slavery and the exploitation of labor.
An inquiry panel consisting of two post-doctoral researchers will also investigate the extent to which scholarship at the University of Cambridge might have reinforced and validated race-based thinking between the 18th and early 20th Century.
British, American Universities have faced questions about the legacy of links to slavery, particularly during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Professor Martin Millett, the Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology, says it is reasonable to assume that, like many large British institutions during the colonial era, the University will have benefited directly or indirectly from, and contributed to, the practices of slavery.
A specially commissioned Advisory Group appointed by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Stephen J Toope has been asked to recommend appropriate ways to publicly acknowledge past links to slavery and to address its impact.
The Advisory Group is expected to deliver its final report to the Vice-Chancellor in 2021.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
