Britain's Contested Pasts

Britain’s Contested Pasts is an interdisciplinary collection that critically examines contemporary approaches to contested histories and seeks to act as a form of reparatory history on how historical injustices are remembered, commemorated, and challenged. It brings together academic, institutional, and practitioner perspectives to explore how problematic histories are interpreted in public spaces. By integrating a range of case studies, including institutional initiatives, archaeological excavations, collaborative projects and artistic engagements, this collection highlights the numerous ways in which Britain’s complex past is being reckoned with in the present.

Presenting a number of methodological approaches, this book includes considerations of how both local examples and national institutions such as the Church of England and the NHS are grappling with their financial and moral entanglements in the history of African chattel enslavement and colonialism more broadly. It also analyses debates surrounding contested historical figures, including Josiah Wedgwood and Robert Peel, alongside wider questions of public engagement. The collection situates these discussions within the broader context of Britain’s contemporary ‘culture wars’ and ongoing debates surrounding national identity and historical responsibility.

This volume is timely in light of ongoing debates surrounding Britain’s imperial legacies, the repatriation of contested artefacts, and the wider public response following the 2020 Black Lives Matter and global anti-racism protests. With the bicentenary of the Abolition of Slavery in British Colonies approaching in 2033, this volume will be of interest to academics, heritage professionals, policymakers and those invested in the ways legacies of enslavement and empire continue to shape Britain.