Maya Wolfe-Robinson, the editor of the series Cotton Capital, explores the revelation that the Guardian’s founding editor, John Edward Taylor, and at least nine of his 11 backers had links to slavery, principally through the cotton and textile industry.
Maya talks to Dr Cassandra Gooptar, who has spent the past two years researching the Guardian’s links to slavery. The Manchester Guardian was founded in 1821, at a time when one industry dominated Manchester – cotton. Maya talks to Dr Matthew Stallard about why Manchester was known as ‘Cottonopolis’ and where its cotton was coming from. She also talks to Prof David Olusoga about the illusion at the centre of British history that conceals the role of slavery in building the nation, and to the teacher and researcher Washington Alcott about the difficulties he faced when trying to document Manchester’s links to the transatlantic slave trade. Prof Gurminder Bhambra believes that to understand the full implications of transatlantic slavery we need to see its place in a wider picture of the British empire.
Cotton Capital is the first episode of a six-part podcast series that is looking at the Guardian’s links to transatlantic slavery and the legacies of that history. It takes listeners from Manchester to Jamaica, the US, Nigeria and Brazil and back to the UK.
To listen to the series, search for Cotton Capital wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes will launch every Monday.
Illustration: Mark Harris/The Guardian
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