Mapping the History of Global Slavery

Mapping Slavery and Colonial Connections is a Google Map exploring the lives of individuals connected to the slave trade who lived in Norfolk, Nottinghamshire or Angus in the UK between c.1600 and 1939.

The map includes several layers which show; the locations of individuals in these areas who owned plantations which used slave labour, those involved in the abolition of slavery and 'black presences' in the mapped areas.


The University College of London website Legacies of British Slave-ownership is dedicated to "tracing the impact of slave-ownership on the formation of modern Britain".

After the abolition of slavery in Great Britain slave owners were very generously compensated, whilst the slaves themselves were not so generously looked after. Slave-owners were given compensation for each slave that they owned. The slaves were re-designated as apprentices and basically had to continue working for their owners without pay for a further six years.

Legacies of British Slave-ownership has created two maps showing the addresses of recipients of slave-compensation in two areas of London, Fitzrovia and the Portman estate area.


Tacky's Rebellion, was an uprising of black African slaves that occurred in Jamaica in May, June and July 1760. The Jamaican Slave Revolt Map tells the story of the revolt, and its brutal suppression by the British Army.

Using contemporary accounts the map animates through the important events and locations in the rebellion and subsequent suppression. A number of eighteenth-century maps were used to create the terrain map and the places map, which form the base maps for the narration.

The Jamaican Slave Revolt map was created by Vincent Brown, Professor of History and African and African-American Studies at Harvard University. Brown says that "the map suggests an argument about the strategies of the rebels and the tactics of counterinsurgency, about the importance of the landscape to the course of the uprising".


Back in 2007 the BBC created The Abolition of British Slavery - Interactive Map to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Great Britain.

The map allows you to explore the history of the transatlantic slave trade, which involved the enforced transportation and enslavement of millions. It is possible to follow dynamic trails across Africa, the Caribbean and the UK with text, images and audio that explain how the slave trade worked and how resistance to slavery eventually led to its abolition.


The Global Slavery Index has created a map displaying the number of people living in modern slavery in countries around the world. The 2013 Global Slavery Index ranks 162 countries based on three factors: the estimated prevalence of modern slavery by population, the prevalence of child marriage, and the prevalence of human trafficking.

The Global Slavery Index Map provides a global heat map showing in which countries in the world slavery still remains a huge problem. Users can click on individual countries on the map to view the estimated number of enslaved people. It is also possible to click-through and view a more detailed breakdown of the problems of slavery in each country, including where the country ranks in the index, the total population and the country's GDP.