The University of Edinburgh, one of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious institutions, played an “outsized” role in creating racist scientific theories and profited significantly from transatlantic slavery, according to a landmark inquiry into its history.
The investigation, seen by the Guardian, found that the university raised at least £30 million from former students and donors linked to the enslavement of African peoples and the plantation economy. It also became a “haven” for professors who developed white supremacist theories in the 18th and 19th centuries, contributing to discredited “racial pseudo-sciences.”
The university still holds bequests worth £9.4 million from donors connected to slavery and colonialism, which fund lectures, medals, and fellowships today. Additionally, it possesses nearly 300 skulls collected in the 1800s from enslaved people by phrenologists who wrongly believed skull shape determined character.
Sir Peter Mathieson, the university’s principal, apologised for its role in profiting from slavery and perpetuating racialised thought. The inquiry recommended redirecting funds from these bequests to hiring Black and minority academics and teaching about racism, as well as reviewing investments in companies linked to Israel.
