Slavery, Big Data, and the Cultures of Caribbean Ancestral Histories

'Twice Removed: Slavery, Big Data, and the Cultures of Caribbean Ancestral Histories'

Professor Matthew J. Smith (University College London)

Royal Historical Society public lecture at the University of Aberdeen, 5.30pm, Wednesday 17 September 2025.

Linklater Rooms, King's College, Regent Walk, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX

Part of the Society's visit to historians at the University of Aberdeen, 17-18 September.

About this lecture

The transformations of the digital age have tremendously advanced historical research across the world. For the historian of the Caribbean longstanding blind spots in the narratives of British slavery and colonialism are now more clearly in view.

At the same time historians must be aware of how the digital turn can also obscure the knotted histories of empire. This lecture will consider the benefits and challenges of digital frontiers of historical scholarship by looking closely at nineteenth century Caribbean history as represented in the archives and in the digital humanities.

It draws on long experience working in various archival traditions in the Caribbean and the work being done at the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery. Special attention will be given to Black family histories, their challenges to researchers and their great potential for linking metropolitan British experiences with the Caribbean during and after slavery.

This is a public lecture which forms part of the Society's visit to historians at the University of Aberdeen on 17-18 September 2025. All are very welcome to attend the lecture, in the Linklater Rooms, University of Aberdeen, and which is followed by a drinks reception.

About the speaker

Matthew J. Smith is Professor of History & Director of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery. He previously was Professor of Caribbean History at the UWI-Mona in Jamaica.

Matthew is a specialist on nineteenth and twentieth century Caribbean History. Among his publications are The Jamaica Reader (with Diana Paton), and Liberty, Fraternity, Exile: Haiti and Jamaica After Emancipation.

The Royal Historical Society visit to the University of Aberdeen

On 17-18 September 2025, members of the Society's Council will be visiting historians at the University of Aberdeen to learn more about their work and to discuss topics of interest and concern.

The Society's visit to Aberdeen is one of several such events taking place in 2025 and early 2026 year. Other visits include to the Cornwall Campus of the University of Exeter (22 May), the University of Suffolk, Ipswich, a joint visit to historians at the Institute of Education and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, to consider being a historian in a non-History department (10 December), and to Sheffield Hallam University (18 February 2026).

Each visit includes a public guest lecture, with further details of these events - open to all - from the Society's Events pages.

Supporting and Joining the Royal Historical Society

The Royal Historical Society is a learned society with charitable status, working to support historians and history. It receives no government funding and relies on income from membership subscriptions, sales of selected publications and voluntary donations.

If you would like to make a small donation to the Royal History Society, to support this and future events, please visit our Support Us page. Thank you.

If you are interested in joining the Royal Historical Society, please see the Join Us page of our website. The Society welcomes applications from all kinds of historians and those interested in history. Its membership options include Fellowship, Associate Fellowship, Membership and Postgraduate Membership for MA and PhD students.

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