History:Black Metallurgists and the making of the industrial revolution

The research of Jenny Bulstrode in Black metallurgists and the making of the industrial revolution suggests that black workers in Jamaica (often enslaved people or the descendents of those abducted from West Africa) were responsible for developments in metallurgy ascribed to white industrialists such as Henry Cort.

Other issues to be articulated:

• The specific targeting of cultures with strong metalworking histories and industries, such as Ghana and Benin
• The relative productivity of metalworking in West Africa compared to the UK
• The nature of intellectual property law in claiming achievements