HOW CITY IS UNDER SCRUTINY

1. Gallery Of Modern Art

Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art, in Royal Exchange Square, opened in 1996 and is housed in the opulent 1778 townhouse of city tobacco lord William Cunninghame of Lainshaw. Like many of his peers, he derived his wealth from the plantations which relied on slave labour.

2. City Chambers

Part of the study will involve looking at the construction of Glasgow City Chambers, completed in 1888, to determine if any donations were made by slaveowners or their direct descendants.

3. James Watt statues

A report last year by Glasgow University details how the father of the famous engineer, who has statues in George Square and Glasgow Green, was “a West India merchant and slave-trader who supported Watt in his career”, adding, “Watt worked for his father...in Glasgow during the 1750s. It is certain Watt profited from slavery but exact quantification is impossible.”

4. Buchanan Street

The famous street is named after tobacco merchant Andrew Buchanan (16901759) who owned land on which the street lies, and relied on slave labour at US plantations which he owned or exerted major control.

5. Glassford Street

Named after John Glassford (1715-83) the merchant considered the most successful of all the city’s tobacco lords, and who derived huge wealth via slave labour.

6. Virginia Street

Tobacco lords became successful – and the city prospered – as they made vast sums from tobacco grown by slaves on plantations in states such as Virginia and Maryland in the US.