When you hear the word Liverpool, What do you think? Does Slave trade come to mind? Well it should!

My mom and I had this on going disagreement that Liverpool was just more than the Beatles. She said it didn't matter. All that mattered was the best Rock Band ever came out of Liverpool... The Beatles. Ok, Who can argue with that?

Well... I can! That's who.  And since it's my blog I will!  Don't get me wrong... I dig the Beatles. I even have them on my yoga play list. And in fact, I really respect how they all went to India (a British colony, I might add) and took a very Eastern approach to things. George even learned to play the sittar.  But any way... Liverpool is more than just the Beatles!  It's been a famous place in history for a long time. The Beatles is just what we know right now...

And this is your history lesson for today... Liverpool was at the center of immigration to the New World.  In fact, they were considered the last port of call for the Slave trade.  Your probably thinking... wait a minute... slave trade?!?! Didn't they come from Africa?  Well yes! The British rounded up African's and packed them on a boat and brought them to Liverpool and sold them to the New World for fancy goods. Sounds awefully harsh now adays but that's just how it went down.  Liverpool is home to the International Slave Museum.  And if you go to Liverpool make sure you don't miss this museum.  It's free! And right down the street from the Beatles Story.  And in my opinion there should be a duplicate at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

So you could probably tell that I'm anti-slavery.  Because I do believe that our actions have permanent consequences and I do believe that no person should belong to another. And unfortunately we have seen it over and over again that history repeats itself... And this museum sums it up by saying "The story of transatlantic slavery is a fundamental and tragic human story that must be told and retold, and never be forgotten."  Similar to the Holocaust, similar to 9/11. We must never forget these moments in history. As we can learn and evolve from every story.


These are some pictures that I took at this museum.  Our guidebook said it was worth a look at and I highly recommend it.  And again, I still have no idea why this museum isn't in the US.  Because it really should be.


So then slavery was out-lawed in England. And finally someone got the memo that it's not nice to buy and sell other people so then what did Liverpool do?  Well, it was the major Port city in England so the next big thing would be to be the center of the Immigration to the New World. And most likely if your family immigrated to America or Canada in the 1830's to 1930's it was more than likely that they came to Liverpool.

Even the Irish came through Liverpool.  It was the hub of immigration! Just like how Heathrow is the hub now, Liverpool played a very important role on getting people to North America.

And now you know that Liverpool is way more than just the Beatles. And in fact, so much has happened there that it's really the hub of change for all peoples. It just so happened that the Beatles grew there band in an area that was already historically important.  And once again put Liverpool on the map!