Welcome to the Centre for the Study of International Slavery

The Centre for the Study of International Slavery (CSIS) supports and shares leading research about human enslavement and its legacies.

Founded as a partnership between the University of Liverpool and National Museums Liverpool, the Centre works together with other universities and organisations to develop scholarly and public activities related to slavery in its historical and contemporary manifestations. Liverpool is a stimulating home for CSIS activities.

In the past Liverpool was a major slaving port with ships and merchants dominating the transatlantic slave trade in the second half of the eighteenth century.

Today, the city’s International Slavery Museum serves as a starting point for different forms of engagement with slavery and abolition across time and space.

Since 2014 the centre has hosted an annual lecture given by world authorities on the history of slavery, the legacy and cultural representations of enslavement, and contemporary forced labour. Speakers have included award winning filmmaker Amma Asante and Kevin Hyland, the UK’s first independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. In 2016 CSIS celebrated its tenth anniversary.