This is the introduction to a special issue of the journalĀ Slavery and Abolition, which gathered togetherĀ articles by historians and archaeologists seeking to shed new light on the system of slavery, and on the processes of abolition and emancipation, in the British Caribbean. This work, some of it based on archaeological field work, some of it on the reading of texts, enablesĀ us to pay close attentionĀ to the complex fabric of daily existence during slavery.Ā The politics of slavery and abolitionĀ related to the most mundane but essential parts of daily life. Taking a material approach allows us to connectĀ this to wider transatlantic, imperial and global themes. This article argues that we can only really study the politicsĀ of slavery if we accept that the meanings attached to objects and to physical locationsĀ wereĀ of fundamental importance to the institution as it was lived by its perpetrators andĀ victims. Click here
Full text of accepted manuscript:Ā Petley and Lenik – Introduction