Transnational Scotland

Sugar sacks on the shore in Greenock

Throughout the long 19th century, Scotland operated as a transnational trade hub of huge global significance. The sugar refineries of Greenock, fisheries of the East Coast, cotton mills of New Lanark and Paisley and jute mills of Dundee attracted raw materials from British colonies from the Caribbean to India. Scotland then exported her finished products back across the world, creating an elaborate network of interconnected routes, objects and peoples.

The 'Transnational Scotland' project builds on research expertise in the transnational by Dr Emma Bond. Emma’s research explores ways to unpick and highlight transnational pathways in creative production, historical narratives and material culture.

In 2015, Emma was selected to attend Scottish Crucible (a development programme for Scotland’s research leaders of the future) and teamed up with researchers from Abertay and Edinburgh to design an initial project which won external funding from the Royal Society of Edinburgh for activity in 2016-2017. The team collaborated with the Watt Institution (Greenock) and produced two prototype video games re-telling the story of Scotland’s transatlantic sugar trade for use in museums and schools.

Sugaropolis game prototype screens

A follow-on project exploring new methodologies for telling transnational sugar stories (including taste interviews, the creation of a storymap and a storywalk) was funded by the Leverhulme Trust/British Academy during 2018-2019. Emma Bond secured additional RSE funds for an individual project in 2019-2020. This connected five museums in Scotland (Fisheries, New Lanark, Verdant Works, V&A Dundee and Watt Institution), and has raised awareness of the impact and scale of Scotland’s imperial trades through a series of workshops and public events.

The project continues through an AHRC International Research Network (2020-2022) involving creative businesses and partner institutions in the Caribbean (National Museum of Jamaica and Tobago Museum) and will produce songs, public performances, and mixed reality immersive experiences.