Eilidh Finlayson

My research examines the role of Scottish women as beneficiaries of slavery-derived wealth, challenging conventional narratives that have downplayed Scotland’s and women’s participation in transatlantic slavery. This study will investigate Scottish women’s role as enslavers in the British West Indies and North America, as well as their role as absentee beneficiaries within Scotland. I aim to reveal the extent to which women depended on income derived from slavery, illuminating both the elite lifestyles it supported and the ways women of lower social ranks accessed this wealth, often through philanthropy funded by female beneficiaries.