As Cambridge Studies Its Links To Slavery, We Look At How Other Universities Dealt With Their Pasts

The University of Cambridge has launched a two-year study into how it may have gained from the slave trade. Historic institutions like universities have been challenged in recent years to look into their pasts, especially in terms of benefitting from slavery or colonialism. With statues and buildings named after now-controversial figures, both academics and students are challenging institutions to rethink who they honour and what their substantial endowments were built on. From the student riots in South Africa to the tiki-torch protests in Charlottesville, examining the past can inflame modern political and social tensions.