The Museum of Liverpool has several exhibits detailing (as you might imagine) Liverpool's history. It was an early and fast growing city connected to the transatlantic slave trade, but is also well-known for its diversity. Liverpudlians consider themselves separate from the rest of England, often referring to themselves as from Liverpool first and from England second. They take pride in their working-class dock worker roots.
Fun facts from the museum:
- Merseyside is home to Europe's oldest China town.
- There are more than 100 statues all over Liverpool called Lambananas that were decorated by different artists. They are odd, but mostly cute. This one is outside of the Museum of Liverpool.
- I stepped on a scale in a boxing exhibit that told me I qualify as a lightweight.
The Merseyside Maritime Museum was very interesting and pretty intense, especially the exhibit devoted entirely to the slave trade. One section allowed the visitor to step into a small theater where two round walls displayed video reenactments of slaves on the middle passage. It was sobering to watch, but effective in portraying the horrors that were experienced.
One of my favorite spots in that exhibit was a single window looking out over the docks.
Nice view, right? I thought so. Then I saw this sign.
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| "From this window... "The Liverpool waterfront has changed dramatically since the days of transatlantic slavery. "The three famous 20th century Pier Head buildings stand on the site of George's Dock where slave ships bound for Africa loaded their goods. "The two dry docks, in front of the Great Western Railway building, were built in the 18th century. Slave ships were repaired in these docks. They are vivid reminders of the horrors of Liverpool's slave trading, and monuments to the commercial success of 18th century Liverpool." |
Slave ships were repaired in these docks.
There it is. History right in front of my face. Not a replica in a display case, but out the window. This museum made it easy to recognize that the effects of events from the past are still very much with us today, even if we would prefer not to see them.
Tomorrow we're off to the Beatles Museum, another kind of Liverpool history.
I can see that lambanana = lamb + banana. My question is: why???
ReplyDeleteI like your observation that people from Liverpool refer to themselves as being from Liverpool before saying they're English -- those kinds of intricacies in how people refer to themselves can offer really interesting insight into how people conceive of their own identities.
ReplyDeleteAnd it sounds like you found the maritime museum incredibly meaningful! It's always fascinating to be able to envision history before your eyes, isn't it?