Slave trade database moves to Harvard

In a world where access to information is essential for understanding significant historical events, the recent relocation of the SlaveVoyages database to Harvard University represents a major milestone. This ambitious project, which documents the journeys and individuals involved in the transatlantic slave trade, not only compiles data but also becomes an indispensable tool for education and historical research. Making these resources available allows for addressing issues of collective memory, social justice, and cultural heritage, while also providing a platform to commemorate past tragedies. With unprecedented access, this database promises to fuel essential conversations about slavery and its consequences through the ages.

A Recent but Neo-Historical Resource: The SlaveVoyages Project

The SlaveVoyages database is not simply a technological project; it is the result of nearly forty years of painstaking research. Originally launched at Emory University in 2008, this platform was developed by researchers from various institutions. The project was designed to provide digital access to handwritten archives, enabling the mapping and analysis of ancient slave voyages. By highlighting the importance of integrating this information into historical context, it helps shed light on the devastating consequences of the slave trade and its continuing impact today.

The Database’s Essential Data

The database’s content includes a wealth of significant details. Currently, it records more than 30,000 slave-trading vessels that sailed across the Atlantic between the 16th and 19th centuries. This data also includes valuable information on approximately 221,000 individuals. , whether ship captains or captive slaves. This vast array of information makes it possible to study the slave trade from a rich and diverse perspective and opens the way for new research. Access to handwritten archives 120,000 individual recordsInteractive route maps

• Educational resources for researchers and students
• Education as pillars of memory
• One of the major concerns of the project is education. Through a partnership with the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery initiative, SlaveVoyages aims to encourage student learning on a topic often neglected in traditional curriculums. By integrating these resources into curricula, Harvard seeks not only to revive the memory of past atrocities, but also to raise awareness about contemporary issues of social justice and cultural identity.
• SlaveVoyages data also helps enhance discussions around the systemic impacts of racism, colonization, and slavery, providing essential historical perspectives. Educators can incorporate this data into their lessons by addressing themes such as:

Genealogy and identity

Social movements and struggles for civil rights

The challenges of decolonization

• The distribution of historical injustices and their current impact
• Data
• Quantity
• Documented ships

By bringing together this immense database within a recognized academic framework, Harvard is paving the way for new studies that could not only enrich knowledge about the slave trade but also explore its contemporary impacts.

Critical discussions taking place around this database address diverse themes, ranging from the analysis of recent migratory movements to the cultural legacy of the slave trade. This opens up incredible opportunities for researchers to produce innovative work based on tangible evidence. By integrating modern data analysis tools, such as artificial intelligence, this project could also revolutionize our understanding of the complex dynamics of history. Available Resources and SupportFinancial support for this project does not come solely from Harvard. Many institutions, including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, have financially supported the development and expansion of SlaveVoyages. This underscores the importance of inter-institutional collaboration in modern historical research. Researchers thus benefit from an ecosystem supported by financial and logistical resources:

Access to manuscript archives

Financial support for technological development

Partnerships with other universities

• Access to teaching platforms
• Institution
• Support provided
• Harvard University

of the suffering caused by the slave trade. By building an archive of memory, this project recognizes not only the lives lost, but also the enduring cultural heritage that emerged from these tragedies. This collective memory provides a framework for dialogue on social justice and reconciliation.

With this in mind, Harvard has taken a proactive stance by integrating this memory into its curricula and community initiatives. This demonstrates a commitment to creating an educational environment where issues of race, class, and the colonial past are explored in nuanced ways. Students are encouraged to engage in social justice projects that directly address these questions: Collaborative research projects on the influence of the slave trade Lectures and workshops on contemporary slavery

Community outreach initiatives

• Exhibitions on cultural heritage linked to the diaspora
• Technology and Living Memories
• Technology plays a key role in connecting historical elements with future generations. SlaveVoyages’ digital tools, such as interactive maps and data visualizations, encourage a dynamic exploration of history. These tools not only make information accessible but also encourage user interaction with this data, thus placing the history of the slave trade at the forefront of educational research.
• Similar initiatives at other institutions point the way forward. For example:

Creating social networks around historical memory

Developing educational applications that integrate personal narratives

Using augmented reality to explore historical sites

• Technology
• Application in education
• Interactive maps