In the News
Articles and features about The Slave Trader and the research behind it.
Rosemary Collins reports on the launch of the Register of British Slave-traders, the five-year project led by Professor William Pettigrew that accompanies David Olusoga’s BBC documentary. Ben is quoted on finding his 8x great-grandfather Bryan Blundell in the register, and on an error in the entry: the voyages listed for 1771 belong to Blundell’s son of the same name, not to the man who died in 1756.
A second guest post for Pen & Sword, on Bryan Blundell and the Reverend Christopher Bassnett, whose 1711 sermon questioned the morality of slavery decades before abolition, and on what it means to be descended from both men.
Ben joins Giles Brown on Talk Radio Europe to talk about The Slave Trader: Bryan Blundell’s rise from cabin boy to twice Mayor of Liverpool, the Blue Coat School he helped found, his part in the transatlantic slave trade, and the family research that uncovered it all.
Oliver Williams reports on the years of research behind the book, and on Ben’s signing at Kenilworth Books in October.
A guest post by Ben for his publisher, on how family history research led him to a Liverpool merchant, and to the sea journal that changed everything.
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