Welcome to part 2 of placement student Sarah’s spotlight! Sarah has been showcasing her research on our collection of clay pipes here at Jarrow. If you missed part one, you can check it out here!
Clay Pipes, Tobacco, and the Slave Trade
Last week, I shared some information about one of the clay pipes in Jarrow Hall’s extensive collections catalogue. While researching this object, I uncovered a wealth of information that would not have fit into one blog post. I wanted to share this extra information with you all today!
As previously stated, tobacco first gained popularity in the United Kingdom in the 17th century. It quickly enjoyed a meteoric rise in demand despite pushback from specific religious groups. Similarly to today, tobacco consumption was subject to heavy taxes by King James I. However, this did not mitigate popularity due to the immense demand from the public. In fact, in 1638 over 3,000,000 pounds of Virginia tobacco was imported to England.
This was able to take place entirely due to Britain’s heavy involvement with the transatlantic slave trade. By the 1760s, British slave ships transported 40,000 captured African people across the Atlantic every year. Britain was the biggest slaver in the world. Following Britain’s assistance with the kidnapping and transportation of human beings to North and South America before the abolition of the international slave trade in 1807, tobacco plantations benefitted from immense profits, with several corporations in the Northeast having their genesis stem from such activities.
Today, small efforts are being made in the United Kingdom to bringing about reparations for these injustices. However this is to a very small degree. While the initial aftermath of abolition featured compensation to slave owners instead of enslaved people, conversations in more recent decades have shifted to incorporate a more equitable approach to righting these wrongs. A report co-authored by the United Nations in 2023 estimated that the UK alone owed more than £18 trillion to 14 countries in reparations. Nonetheless, despite calls for financial reparations from such highly affected regional bodies like CARICOM, as recently as 2024 there remains a hesitancy to partake in a financial relief system of any significant scale.
It is paramount that as we explore these periods of British history, we work to unpack these untold histories. We must consider the untold stories of injustice that have allowed such instances of economic growth and consumerism to exist. While progress is being made, there are still so many of these stories that have yet to be told. We all have a responsibility as a community to remain active in these discussions, and prevent such injustices in the 21st century.
Thank you so much to Sarah for her work on researching these objects! Check out our spotlight display case to see a display about the clay pipes in the collections at Jarrow Hall.
Placement student Dake Lin, with us from Durham University, is doing some amazing photogrammetry and 3D modelling work with our objects. He has produced some 3D models of some of our clay pipes, which you can see below! Feel free to zoom in, click on and rotate the objects to get a closer look.