A new report has found deep links to the Atlantic slave trade through statues, buildings and street names in Glasgow city centre.
Written by Glasgow University's Dr Stephen Mullen, the report titled Glasgow, Slavery and Atlantic Commerce: An Audit of Historic Connections and Modern Legacies found eight statues where links are found.
The statues are valued to be worth £30 million today.
It also found 11 mansions and urban buildings in Glasgow connected to individuals linked to slavery, and 62 streets named after reported slave owners, including Buchanan Street, named after Andrew Buchanan Jr, and Glassford Street, after tobacco lord John Glassford.
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The report found between 1636 and 1834, 79 lord provosts were nominated to Glasgow Town Council, 40 of whom had connections to Atlantic slavery and others who owned enslaved people.
The audit was commissioned by Glasgow City Council, whose leader Susan Aitken now says the city "must apologise" for its links to the slave trade.
The findings of the audit will be discussed by the council and their working group, led by councillor Graham Campbell, and will be holding public consultations.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “The city commissioned this report in late 2019, in order to determine the historic connections and modern legacies derived from the Atlantic slave trade.
"It focuses on individuals involved in slavery who either shaped today's city, or are memorialised in civic space.
“It has always been our intention to hold wide-ranging public discussions and consultation on the findings. As such, it will be for the people of Glasgow to determine the city’s next steps.”
You can read the full report here.
