Professor Trevor Burnard obituary: The Hull academic was an expert on the Atlantic slave trade and the life of Thomas Thistlewood

Professor Trevor Burnard, who has died at 63, was a world-leading historian who undertook critical research on the Atlantic slave trade and on and slavery in the Caribbean, America, and Africa from the 17th to the 19th century.Professor Trevor Burnard, who has died at 63, was a world-leading historian who undertook critical research on the Atlantic slave trade and on and slavery in the Caribbean, America, and Africa from the 17th to the 19th century.
Professor Trevor Burnard, who has died at 63, was a world-leading historian who undertook critical research on the Atlantic slave trade and on and slavery in the Caribbean, America, and Africa from the 17th to the 19th century.
Professor Trevor Burnard, who has died at 63, was a world-leading historian who undertook critical research on the Atlantic slave trade and on and slavery in the Caribbean, America, and Africa from the 17th to the 19th century.

An acknowledged expert on Atlantic slavery, he joined Hull University in 2019, continuing his career-long interest in plantation societies in the Americas and their impact on global economic systems and connections from the 18th century to the present day. His pioneering work on the slave owner Thomas Thistlewood revealed the depths of suffering inflicted upon enslaved men, women, and children in the Caribbean.

His recent works focused on raising scholarly and popular understanding about the pivotal role of the enslaved in ending Atlantic slavery. The monographs, edited collections, and peer-reviewed journal articles he published in the last five years cemented his global reputation.

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Born in New Zealand, Prof Burnard served as director of the Wilberforce Institute in Hull from November 2019, attracting significant funding awards from research bodies including the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Australian Research Council and the Leverhulme Trust.

His research played a key role in exploring slavery links with the Scott Trust, owner of the Guardian Media Group, which led to an apology by the Trust and a programme of restorative justice, totaling more than £10m over the ensuing decade.

A resident of Hull since 2019, having lived briefly in the city during the 1990s, he was a keen advocate for the waterfront area and his work is displayed in the city’s Wilberforce House Museum.

He is survived by his wife, Deborah, and his two children, Nicholas and Eleanor.

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