Two stories, usually seen as disconnected, unfold themselves during the second half of the 18th century. The first is the increased dominance of Britain in the transatlantic slave trade. According to estimates from the Slave Voyages database, the number of enslaved people carried by British ships more than doubled, from around 410,000 in the first quarter of the century to more than 830,000 in the third. The second is the establishment of William Shakespeare as the national bard. As scholar Gary Taylor puts it, “Shakespeare’s coronation as the King of English poets” dates from the third quarter of the 18th century, boosted by the actor David Garrick’s lavish Shakespeare Jubilee celebrations in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1769.
These stories have their meeting point in one specific object: the valuable book known as Shakespeare’s First Folio, published 400 years ago in 1623. And the history of this book also contributes to ongoing debates about what happened to the vast profits made from the trade and exploitation of enslaved peoples in the late 18th century and beyond.
