Africa, the arrival of Europeans and the transatlantic slave trade

1830 Warehouse

This warehouse embodies the importance of the triangular trade to the Manchester economy. It incorporates two tropical hardwoods, African oak (Oldfieldia africana) and greenheart (Chlorocardium rodiei), chosen for their specific properties. Being very resistant to wear, African oak was used for the sills of the loading bays. Greenheart was ideal for the spreader pads, which sit between the timber posts and main floor beams, because it is dense and able to withstand high compression.

African oak is found in Sierra Leone and other parts of west Africa. Founded in 1792, Freetown (now the capital of Sierra Leone) became the home of more than 1,000 formerly enslaved Africans. In 1808, Britain made Freetown a crown colony and the base for the naval squadron that patrolled west African waters to enforce the ban on slavery.

Greenheart is found in parts of the West Indies and South America, including Guyana (formerly British Guiana). The Dutch surrendered three small colonies in Guyana to Britain in 1814, but in 1830 enslaved Africans still formed the workforce of Guyanan sugar plantations. In 1831 the former Dutch colonies became British Guiana and enslaved Africans were freed three years later as a result of the 1833 Emancipation Act.
 

The 1830 warehouse can now be seen as part of the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) in Manchester, and is publically accessible. www.mosi.org.uk.