Colonialism Research

The Devonshire family place huge importance on the responsibility that comes with the guardianship of cultural assets such as Chatsworth and The Devonshire Collections, and are deeply committed to being decent, transparent, curious and responsible stewards of this heritage.

In this spirit, the family and The Devonshire Collections team have embarked on an in-depth exploration into our historic links with the transatlantic slave trade, the British Empire and colonialism, as represented not just in our archives but across the collections. We plan to work in partnership with academics and PhD students from our partner universities, including the University of Derby, the University of Oxford and the White Rose University Consortium.

Our own preliminary explorations into the Chatsworth archives, spanning 400+ years, have uncovered several avenues for further study, so we are indebted to the academics who will undertake detailed research to build a full and balanced picture of the family’s historic economic and cultural intersections with slavery, colonialism and empire. We are committed to making this work public when complete, and to working with expert advisors and communities with close links to the history of colonialism and slavery, to build the findings into our own story and into our audience and visitor experiences, in a way that is relevant, sensitive, accurate and appropriate.