Bristol suffered greatly after the collapse of the sugar trade, but the city was strong enough to survive. A new dock was eventually built at Avonmouth on the banks of the River Severn, as large ships would no longer venture down the narrow River Avon to the city centre.

Modern day Bristol

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As for the Caribbean countries, they were dominated by the descendants of the planters and their overseers until the 1960's. Black people were largely excluded from power and the wealth of the islands was not used to benefit the majority of the black descendants of slavery. It was because job and educational opportunities were so limited that many black men and women from the West Indies were attracted to post World War II Britain by the offer of good jobs. The City of Bristol was one of the cities that, at first, welcomed its new emigrant workforce.

Unfortunately, during the slavery period, rebellions, runaway slaves and attacks on planters caused the white rulers real anxiety and concern. As a result, black people were stereotyped in the British press as unreasoning, violent and dangerous - rather than as people with their own hopes and aspirations. This tradition survived after slavery ended and endured well into the 20th century.

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In Bristol the legacy of slavery continues in a more tangible form. Many of the city's buildings and institutions owe their origins to the wealth created by the trade in slaves and slave-produced commodities. 

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Amongst these can be listed:

• The Colston Hall,

• Colston's Boys School,

• Colston's Girls School,

• Cotham Grammar - (founded by the Society of Merchant Venturers)

• The Georgian House - (former home of John Pinney)

 

There are many more.