Bristol: Banksy, slavery and Captain Blackbeard
I was first introduced to Bristol by fluke back in 2009. It was a boring Sunday in Toronto and as an avid cinemagoer, I saw Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary made by Banksy. I was immediately intrigued.
Bristol as a city is the truest definition of flower power. The vibe in Bristol is hippie meets graffiti artist meets punk rock meets alternative lifestyle meets any lifestyle. All lifestyles welcome. The tragic irony is that Bristol, because of its position on the Avon river, was once the main port of slavery.
While Bristol’s history dates back to 1051, it only grew rich once it became one of the main points of the slave triangle between 1697 to 1807. In this period, over 2000 known ships left its port.
Back then, the trade of slaves and goods was called Triangular Trade. In the first side of the triangle, goods were shipped to West Africa and exchanged for Africans. In the second triangle, the imprisoned slaves were then transported under torturous conditions across the Atlantic to the Americas, to work on plantations. In the third side of the triangle, plantation goods such as sugar, tobacco, rum, rice, cotton and a few slaves (sold to the aristocracy as house servants) returned across the Atlantic. As one of the main ports of the Triangular Trade in the 18th century, Bristol prospered and accumulated great wealth.
During the same time, as shipping traffic started to soar, piracy also started to become a problem. Pirates attacked in large numbers and were often experienced sailors, trained in naval warfare. One of the most successful pirates was the Bristolian Edward Teach, also known as the infamous Captain Blackbeard. The notorious pirate Captain Blackbeard sailed with a small army of 400 men. He travelled in a huge slave ship he named Queen Anne’s Revenge, a ship he had captured in the Caribbean in 1717. Through the Queen Anne’s Revenge and his three other ships, Blackbeard captured some 23 ships and stripped them of anything of value. The dark hearted pirate, who would put smoking fuses into his hair and beard to scare his crew and enemies, was later killed in North Carolina, where he frequently ventured.
Today, it’s difficult to connect Bristol to its dark past. The profoundly positive paradox is that Bristol doesn’t defend its dark past, but clearly acknowledges it in its museums, and has made light of it. Bristol as a city distinguishes itself with its creative expression. Artists are able to thrive here. It is a mecca for visual graffiti and other artists because of its freedom of expression, its relaxed atmosphere and its authenticity. It is the most normal thing in the world to get out your graffiti cans and start creating anywhere, not over someone else’s work though. The overall attitude of the city is an unpretentious kind of cool.
Bristol is definitely worth visiting. It’s as cozy as a small town but as cosmopolitan as a big city. It’s chilled out with no fashion rules, extremely friendly people and a lot of cool graffiti.
Set off by visiting some graffiti art around Stapleton Road, St. Werburgh’s and Cheltenham Road; enjoy the beautiful St. Nicholas market; be in awe at the suspension bridge in Clifton Hill; and a definite must-see is the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.
