Tributes have been paid to Prof Trevor Burnard, who died on Friday at the age of 63. He was described as a “prolific academic” who will be remembered for his “brilliance and his compassion”, and his work on Atlantic slavery.
Burnard, who was a professor of slavery and emancipation and considered one of the foremost experts on Atlantic slavery, joined the University of Hull in 2019, continuing his career-long interest in plantation societies in the Americas and their impact on global economic systems.
His expertise was central in research commissioned by the Scott Trust, the Guardian’s owner, which explored the links of its founder, John Edward Taylor, to transatlantic slavery.
As a result of the research, the Scott Trust issued an apology and announced a decade-long programme of restorative justice, including £10m of reparations for descendant communities
Burnard, who was born in New Zealand, served as director of the Wilberforce Institute at the University of Hull, which studies slavery and emancipation, from November 2019 to June 2024, while holding the Wilberforce chair in slavery.
According to the University of Hull, Burnard’s leadership “brought with it significant funding awards from prestigious research bodies including the AHRC [Arts and Humanities Research Council], the Australian Research Council, and the Leverhulme Trust, as well as numerous prizes for the far-reaching impact of the institute’s work”.
Dr Cassandra Gooptar, a lecturer in legacies of slavery who worked closely with Burnard on the Guardian project, described him as a “prolific academic” whose absence would be felt by many.
She said: “Trevor was a prolific academic who needs no introduction when it comes to his field of history: Atlantic and imperial history and slavery.
“He was a supportive mentor, always keen to give credit to junior researchers for their work, and worked arduously behind the scenes to ensure early career researchers and PhD students were well supported at the University of Hull.
“His hands-off leadership style, characterised by trust, facilitated my professional growth as well as that of many others at the Wilberforce Institute.
“Trevor had a deep love for history and was a historian and director at his core. Up to his last days, he was working on yet another one of his many books. Amid a very much thriving career, his absence will be felt by many, and his passing is a true loss for the academic community.”
Burnard has many published books, including Writing the History of Global Slavery and Writing Early America: From Empire to Revolution, and was working on another book at the time of his death.
In a joint tribute, the University of Hull and Wilberforce Institute said: “We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Prof Trevor Burnard. A world-leading historian, Trevor undertook critical research focused on Atlantic and imperial history and slavery in the Caribbean, America and Africa during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. A member of the editorial board of the leading journal Slavery & Abolition, he was one of the foremost experts on Atlantic slavery.”
The university drew attention to his work over the past few years, which focused on raising scholarly and popular understanding about the pivotal role of enslaved people in ending Atlantic slavery.
“His work has advanced earlier studies in plantation slavery in Jamaica, expanded knowledge of the voices of the enslaved in plantation societies, and revealed the British royal family’s involvement in Atlantic slavery,” the statement continued.
• This article was amended on 25 July 2024. An earlier version described Trevor Burnard as a “UK historian”. Though based in the UK for much of his career, Prof Burnard was born in New Zealand.
