Next Steps

We realise there is a lot more to explore about how Welsh Plains contributed to the economy of the Slave Trade and how the cloth and provisions for plantations actually worked. The project has attracted international interest and a number of people are considering additional research into the ways that enslaved Africans made use of the limited amount of fabric they were given. 

So, we are planning to find ways for the project to continue during the next year - in Wales we are calling this next phase "Brethyn" with a focus on the cottage industry and the trade in cloth out of Wales, as well to find out more about the impact this had on the development of the small industrial communities that developed in the valleys across Wales and impact this had on life in Wales in the 1700's. 

In England, the Learning Links International team are planning to explore the production of Kendal Cloth and another cloth called Penistone, which collectively became known as "Negro Cloth", and we will be exploring ways to fund this research. We also want to explore more about the role of the ports of Liverpool and Bristol in the use of Welsh Plains purchased to supply the Slave Trade, as well as to find out more about the significant role of Shrewsbury and London in trade to the Low Countries in the 1500's when this cloth was probably used for the earlier international trade to South America where the Spanish and Portuguese forced enslaved Africans to mine, as well as to work on plantations. 

Meetings and discussions with the team at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool and the Centre for Slavery Studies have identified that the very significant contribution made by Welsh people to develop the slave port of Liverpool, and also to supply goods for the Plantation Trade, has been overlooked by researchers and there are opportunites for a specific focus into this link.

We are undertaking various consultations and would welcome feedback and ideas via 'Feedback' or email lizmillman@yahoo.co.uk.