Workshop on Transatlantic History: A Look at Enslavement and Women's Rights!

Workshop on Transatlantic History: A Look at Enslavement and Women's Rights!

On September 11th and 12th, 2025, the workshop “Transversal Thinking and Acting” took place at the Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). Organized by PD Dr. Andrea Gremels and Norah El Gammal, the event aimed to discuss the transatlantic history of enslavement across professional and geographical boundaries. Participants from the fields of literary studies, philosophy, political science, ethnology and history came together to develop a differentiated perspective on the topic. A particular focus was on the productivity of cultural studies theories from the Global South, which are often neglected in Eurocentric historiography.

The workshop offered space for intensive discussions about Eurocentric and nationalist perspectives in historiography. Prof. Dr. Ottmar Ette spoke about Anton Wilhelm Amo, the first known black philosopher in Germany, and his missing doctoral thesis. This connection made a connection to current discussions about colonialism and slavery in Germany, which were sparked after the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests. In August 2023, for example, “Mohrenstraße” in Berlin was renamed “Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Straße”, a move that signals ongoing confrontations with the colonial past.

Interdisciplinary perspectives

Norah El Gammal addressed the stories of female enslaved people and representation through literary representations. Dr. Anka Steffen reported on the destroyed Warsaw archive, which could have provided important information about Polish legionaries in the Haitian Revolution. These debates underlined the need for interdisciplinary exchange, which Andrea Gremels emphasized as a strength of the workshop. Dr. Sinah Kloß reflected on power relationships in her field research in Suriname and thus expanded the scope of the discussion to include global perspectives.

A panel on sugar highlighted the connection between history and economics. Gremels presented her research on Fernando Ortiz and the symbolic importance of sugar farming to enslavement. Prof. Dr. Klaus Weber spoke about the global connections in sugar cultivation in the 19th century, which had not only economic but also social effects. The workshop concluded with a film discussion with Manthia Diawara about his film “Édouard Glissant: One World in Relation”, which discussed exchange relationships between Africa and the Caribbean.

The slave trade and its effects

The discussion of transatlantic slavery sits in the context of a broader debate about colonial trade and its impact. In Central Europe, especially in the 18th century, demand for colonial products such as sugar and coffee rose sharply. These products accounted for over 60% of Hamburg's total overseas imports, demonstrating the type of trade flows that characterized societies at the time. Cultivation in the American colonies expanded massively, which in turn led to a slow increase in productivity in Europe. Historians examine the role of German and Swiss traders in the slave trade, which had a positive impact on their prosperity.

Friedrich Romberg is a key figure in the history of the German slave trade. After emigrating to Brussels, he profited from his trade in textiles and acquired a transit privilege in 1766. In 1782, Romberg began to be actively involved in the slave trade and built one of the largest shipping companies in Bordeaux. However, his business, which relied heavily on the sugar and slave trade, suffered massive losses due to the slave rebellion of 1791 in St. Domingo. Romberg's story illustrates the complex involvement of German traders in the slave trade and shows the deep economic and social consequences of these practices.

The discussion at the workshop and the associated historical analyzes are part of a larger social process in Germany. It is urgently necessary to deal critically with one's own colonial past in order to question and process entrenched narratives. This debate also includes various slave trade practices from other cultures, which are often not adequately addressed in the current debate. Historians call for a nuanced view of this complex history that goes beyond the Eurocentric perspective and includes the Global South.