Swedish Colonial History:Abolition of Slavery-Current Discourses


Swedish Colonial History – Abolition of Slavery and Contemporary European Discourses

Lecture on Sweden's colonial history and Gothenburg's part in Triangular Slave Trade

Wednesday, 9 October 5–7 pm Gothenburg City Library In English

17.00-17.45 Klas Rönnbäck: Trade and Justice. Gothenburg's French block and Sweden's hunt for colonies

17.45-19.00 Françoise Vergès keynote: European Abolitionism and Its Discontent

As one of the last countries in Europe, Sweden abolished slavery 9 October 1847. On the Commemoration Day for Abolition of Slavery on Saint Barthélemy, former Swedish colony, GIBCA invites a professor in economic history, Klas Rönnbäck, and an international political scientist, Françoise Vergès, to refer to the Swedish and European colonial past and its current implications.

Klas Rönnbäck talks about Gothenburg’s part in Triangular Slave Trade and the connection of a plot of land in Gothenburg harbour with an island in the Caribbean, Saint Barthélemy.

Starting with the representations in painting of the abolition of slavery in Europe, Françoise Vergès refers to the abolition of slavery in Europe and the silencing of its commemorations, while addressing ways in which demands for remembering constitute a struggle against racism and one for dignity.

The event is organised by Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art in collaboration with the French Institute in Sweden.

När: 9 oktober 2019 17:00 - 9 oktober 2019 19:00

Var: Göteborgs stadsbibliotek Stadsbiblioteket Göteborg / Götaplatsen 3/ / Göteborg

Arrangör: Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art och Göteborgs stadsbibliotek

Mer information.