INAUGURAL LECTURE - Professor Matthew Smith: A Troubled Freedom: Power & Caribbean Memory of Slavery

It took nearly a century for chattel slavery to be abolished in the Caribbean. It took even longer for the countries of the region to become independent of their colonial rulers. The resonances of these two deeply linked processes are indelible, rising more sharply during moments of political and social tension. Drawing on two decades of research, this presentation reflects on how legacies of slavery have been marshalled by various publics since the nineteenth century and considers what collective and political remembrances, especially after decolonization, reveal about the evolution of Caribbean history making.  

The lecture will take place 18:30-19:30 in the Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, and will be followed by a drinks reception in the South Cloisters. 

For those who are unable to attend in-person, this event will be live streamed via the UCL Youtube channel at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_a9xOwRlsw 

Image: David Gilkey, for NPR. The image is of the San Souci ruins in Milot, Haiti.