BLM

The

transatlantic slave trade

took place between the mid-16th century and early 19th century. It involved the kidnapping, transportation, selling, buying, enslavement and killing of Africans. The Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, British, Arabs and several West African kingdoms played a prominent role.

English naval officer

Sir John Hawkins of Plymouth

is widely acknowledged as "the Pioneer of the English Slave Trade". His four voyages to Sierra Leone between 1562 and 1569 took and sold a total of 1200 Africans across the Caribbean.

Ireland began to participate in the slave trade in during the mid-17th century.

William Ronan,

rose to become chairman of the committee of merchants at Cape Coast Castle in modern Ghana, running one of the world's largest slave markets between 1687 and 1697.

The Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade

was formed in 1787 by a group of Quakers (a Christian denomination) united in their shared opposition to slavery and the slave trade.

Olaudah Equianoo

, a former slave captured in Africa, published his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, in which he explores the story of his kidnap and enslavement.

British ships made about 1,340 voyages across the Atlantic, landing nearly

400,000

slaves. Between 1801 and 1807, they took a further 266,000. The slave trade remained one of Britain's most profitable businesses.

The Slave Trade Act

was passed in March 1807, thereby aboloshing the slave trade. However, despite the slave trade now being illegal it continued for numerous years after this point.

Great Britain abolished slavery throughout its empire, which freed more than

800,000

enslaved men, women and children.

The Government took out a loan to pay slave owners compensation for "loss of human property"; taxes were used to pay off the loan.

Repayments only ended in 2015.

WWI saw a small growth in the size of London's Black communities with the arrival of merchant seamen and soldiers. By the war’s end, a total of

15,204

Black men, had served in the British West Indies Regiment in Britain.

WWII - Many Black people from the Caribbean and West Africa arrived in small groups as wartime workers, merchant seamen, and servicemen from the army, navy, and air forces. More than

600,000

Africans fought for Britain.

The Windrush Generation.

Nearly half a million people moved from the Caribbean to Britain, due to Britain facing severe labour shortages in the wake of the Second World War. However, they were met with significant racism. For many Caribbean immigrants, their first experience of discrimination came when trying to find private accommodation.

The Notting Hill riots in the UK occured as a result of the growing tensions between the white and Black community which led to a group of white working-class youth known as the

‘Teddy Boys’

physically assaulting five Black men and vandalising property owned by Caribbean immigrants.

The

1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act

was passed in Britain along with a succession of other laws in 1968, 1971 and 1981, which severely restricted the entry of Black immigrants into Britain.

The Bristol Bus Boycott

drew national attention to racial discrimination in Britain, and the campaign was supported by national politicians, with interventions being made by church groups and the High Commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago.

The introduction of the

Race Relations Act.

- the first legislation in the UK to address racial discrimination.

The first

Notting Hill Carnival

was primarily organised by Rhaune Laslett, to highlight and celebrate the racial, ethnic and cultural diversity in her area. Today it is said to be the second biggest carnival in the world, and the biggest one in Europe.

The formation of the

British Black Panther Party

. Founded by Biafran playwright Obi Egbuna, the British Black Panthers comprised an anti-racist movement of first- and second-generation immigrants from Britain’s former Caribbean, West African, and South Asian colonies.

Black people in Britain were the victims of racist violence perpetrated by far-right groups such as the

National Front.

During this period, it was also common for Black footballers to be subjected to racist chanting from crowd members.

Start of UK Riots. Societal racism and discrimination alongside perceptions of powerlessness and oppressive policing, sparked a series of riots in areas with substantial African-Caribbean populations. These riots took place in

St Paul's in 1980, Brixton, Toxteth and Moss Side in 1981, St Paul's again in 1982, Notting Hill Gate in 1982, Toxteth in 1982

.

The murder of

Stephen Lawrence

. A Black British teenager, Lawrence was murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus. The incident led to cultural changes of attitudes on racism and the police, and to the law and police practice.

The death of

Joy Gardner

. Gardner died after being detained during a police immigration raid on her home, when she was restrained with handcuffs and leather straps and was gagged.

The introduction of the

National Black Police Association (NBPA)

, which is a group of the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) employees in the UK police forces. The group seeks to improve working environments, to enhance racial harmony and the quality of service to all communities of the United Kingdom

The

EU-funded Afro-Community Support Organisation Northern Ireland (ACSONI)

was formed to represent the views of Black people.

Nigerian refugee and politician

Rotimi Adebari

was elected as mayor of Portlaoise, the first Black mayor in Ireland.

After

Mark Duggan

was shot dead by police in Tottenham, London a series of riots occurred in London between 6th August and 11th August.

Saw the development of the

Black Lives Matter (BLM)

movement, which is an international human rights movement formed within the Black community, fighting for freedom, liberation and justice.

Following the death of

George Floyd

, a series of protests began across the world to demand an end to police brutality and systemic racism.

Edward Colston

statue pulled down and thrown into Bristol Harbour. Sixty statues of slave traders and participants in the Slave Trade have been identified and petitions created to have them removed.