Museum of British Colonialism

Paper Trails: Jonathan Jenner | MBC MBC’s Andrea Potts sat down with economic historian Jonathan Jenner to discuss the political economy of colonial Kenya and his […]

We also spoke to Jonathan Jenner regarding his work on the political economy of colonial Kenya and the spatial control of unemployment.

museumofbritishcolonialism.org/paper-trails...

Paper Trails: Khushboo Jain | MBC Andrea Potts spoke with Khushboo Jain, an independent curator, writer and researcher, about decolonising Indian miniature art. Andrea: What is […]

In 2025 we spoke to Khushboo Jain about her work in decolonising Indian miniature art, undoing centuries of British disregard for Indian culture and artefacts.

museumofbritishcolonialism.org/paper-trails...

Over the years we have talked with historians, archivists, heritage practitioners and activists from around the world about their work in decolonising institutions and researching colonial history.

Don't forget to get in touch with us before 6 January if you're interested in participating in our Paper Trails series!

Are you a student or early career researcher of British colonialism with research that you want to share?

We're now open for submissions for our Paper Trails series until 6 January 2026!

Paper Trails | MBC Paper Trails “Paper Trails” began life in 2020 as a series of interviews with students and early-career researchers studying British […]

You can see previous entries into our series on our website

museumofbritishcolonialism.org/papertrails/

Are you a student or early career researcher of British colonialism with research that you want to share?

We're now open for submissions for our Paper Trails series until 6 January 2026!

Home | An Exploration of British Colonialism | MBC The museum of british colonialism is a joint uk/kenyan initiative founded to creatively communicate a more truthful account of british colonialism.

Esme's blog is the second in a three part series hosted on our website. Sign up to get the latest updates direct into your inbox!

museumofbritishcolonialism.org

Planting Power: How the British Empire grew from Indigenous Knowledge | MBC A 1901 New York advertisement for quinine that highlighted the misappropriation of Indigenous knowledge in pharmaceuticals | Credit: AHIP Part […]

You can read more about imperial appropriation of indigenous knowledge in Esme's previous blog on our website.

museumofbritishcolonialism.org/planting-pow...

Red Bark and Empire: Unearthing the Colonial Roots of Kew Gardens | MBC Part One – Kew Gardens This project began with a single plant. While researching in the archives of the Royal […]

In the second instalment of her blog series concerning the botany and the British Empire, Esme Barrell reflects on the colonial roots of the Royal Botanical Gardens and the appropriation of Indigenous botanical knowledge by British scientists.

museumofbritishcolonialism.org/red-bark-and...

📣 Emergency Exits: The Fight for Independence in Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus.

A new exhibition running at the Imperial War Museum between Oct 2025 - March 2026.

I was approached last year to join the advisory panel and have been so delighted to see this project come to fruition.

Support our Work | MBC Supporting The Museum We are an entirely volunteer led organization and we welcome your input & feedback. You can donate […]

If you are interested in our work, you can sign-up for updates straight to your inbox as well as understand how you can support our work here

museumofbritishcolonialism.org/support-our-...

What is the importance of oral histories? How did detention policy of Post Colonial Kenya deviate from its colonial predecessor? These are questions central to our work and are just some of the topics we discussed with Mr Gizaw.

Archiving Legacy of Resistance in Post Colonial Kenya: An Interview | MBC Gerawork Gizaw discusses importance and challenges of oral history as well as endurance of detention centres in post colonial Kenya

Earlier this month, we published an interview with 2024 Voltaire Prize Winner and Researcher Mr Gerawork Gizaw concerning his fieldwork in the Kakuma Camp Refugee site in Turkana County, Kenya.

museumofbritishcolonialism.org/archiving-st...

The DO was created with the idea of brining to a wide audience developments and topics in the #DH worlds of Asian, N. African and Middle Eastern fields. It is currently the only platform that does so, as open-access resource.

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The court case shook the very foundations of the British establishment by exposing a vast cover-up of Britain's colonial crimes and revolutionised how we view colonial history forever.

YouTube video by Museum of British Colonialism Operation Legacy

In 2009, a group of Kenyan war veterans sued the British Government over the actions of the colonial regime in Kenya during the Mau Mau Uprising.

In 2018, we co-produced a documentary with HistoryHit to tell their incredible story. You can see the documentary here:

youtu.be/B2ETXDBB45c?...

Planting Power: How the British Empire grew from Indigenous Knowledge | MBC A 1901 New York advertisement for quinine that highlighted the misappropriation of Indigenous knowledge in pharmaceuticals | Credit: AHIP Part […]

🔊 A wonderful first part to a three part series from a brilliant former student of mine, Esme Barrell. Glad we at @museumofbc.bsky.social could host this series and we look forward to reading the next installment!

museumofbritishcolonialism.org/planting-pow...

Home | An Exploration of British Colonialism | MBC The museum of british colonialism is a joint uk/kenyan initiative founded to creatively communicate a more truthful account of british colonialism.

Esme's blog is the first in a three part series. Sign up to our website to get the latest updates direct into your inbox.

museumofbritishcolonialism.org

New blog just dropped!

Read the lastest blog on our website from Esme Barrell about the British Empire's appropriation of indigenous knowledge.

Reconstructing the legacies of colonial detention: Digital heritage, memory, and the Mau Mau Emergency, 1952–1960 - Bethany Rebisz, 2025 This article examines the legacies of colonial detention in Kenya and considers the adaptive digital heritage practices used by the Museum of British Colonialis...

🔊 New Article: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... @memorystudies.bsky.social

New publication out for @museumofbc.bsky.social. All credit to @gabemoshenska.bsky.social for spearheading this 🎉

Afterlives of Colonial Incarceration | MBC Afterlives Across Africa colonialism, slavery, and racial oppression relied on incarceration, imprisonment and restriction. Slaves were shackled and confined. Prior […]

This work was carried out by researchers from the @newcastleuni.bsky.social and @leverhulme.ac.uk and will be exhibited on MBC's main website here museumofbritishcolonialism.org/afterlives-o...

This exhibition explores sites in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, examining what happened to them after the end of colonial rule and how they are remebered today.

The British Empire relied on incarceration, imprisonment and restriction to uphold colonial rule.

Poster image displaying an image of Ussher Fort with information on the exhibition below

Starting this week, MBC's website will host an online exhibition exploring the afterlives of colonial incarceration sites in Africa.

Great interview. MBC Paper Trails is crammed with interesting stuff, always worth a read.

Paper Trails: Khushboo Jain | MBC Andrea Potts spoke with Khushboo Jain, an independent curator, writer and researcher, about decolonising Indian miniature art. Andrea: What is […]

Time for another Paper Trails interview...

This month, we spoke to Khushboo Jain, a curator, writer and researcher about decolonising Indian miniature art.

museumofbritishcolonialism.org/paper-trails...

Hello Bluesky.

We are the Musuem of British Colonialism, a transnational team dedicated to sharing the marginalised narratives of British colonialism through innovative exhibitions, archives, and fieldwork.

Paper Trails: Jonathan Jenner | MBC MBC’s Andrea Potts sat down with economic historian Jonathan Jenner to discuss the political economy of colonial Kenya and his […]

A new Paper Trails interview is now live on our website!

Follow the link below to read about the research of economic historian Jonathan Jenner and the spatial control of unemployment in colonial Kenya.

museumofbritishcolonialism.org/paper-trails...