The remarkable story of an African-born slave who won a landmark legal case after being brought to Scotland from the Caribbean by a wealthy plantation owner is to be honoured at Perth’s new national museum.
Joseph Knight’s prolonged battle to secure his freedom was key to the abolition of slavery in Scotland and he will be remembered in one of six specially-commissioned banners to be hung at City Hall’s £26.5million attraction when it opens in 2024.
The project explores how Scotland was shaped by people, places and events “uniquely associated” with Perthshire, including the Stone of Destiny, which will go on permanent display there after being relocated from Edinburgh Castle.
Knight will be featured alongside key figures and episodes from the Jacobite Risings, the Battle of Culloden and the Highland Clearances in the banners installation, which is expected to remain in place at the museum for up to 10 years.
Joseph Knight was born in West Africa around the middle of the 18th century, but it is not clear which country he was born in or what his original name was.
He was captured during the height of the slave trade before being sold to wealthy Scottish plantation owner John Wedderburn of Ballendean in Jamaica, where he would be forced to work as a domestic servant.
Wedderburn took Knight with him on his return to his Perthshire estate in 1769.
Upon his arrival back in the UK, Knight fled Wedderburn after he demanded to be paid a wage for his work.
Knight mounted a legal challenge against Wedderburn in the Justices of the Peace court in Perth in a bid to seek freedom in 1774. He claimed that the act of slavery was not recognised in Scotland as it was in Jamaica.
The court ruled in favour of Wedderburn, which prompted Knight to launch a successful appeal to the Sheriff of Perth John Swinton.
He found that: “The state of slavery is not recognised by the laws of this kingdom, and is inconsistent with the principles thereof: that the regulations in Jamaica, concerning slaves, do not extend to this kingdom; and repelled the defender’s claim to a perpetual service.” The case was then escalated to the Court of Session, Scotland’s supreme civil court, in 1777 after Wedderburn claimed that Knight still owed perpetual service, in the same manner as an indentured servant or apprenticed artisan.
However, Knight succeeded in arguing that he should be granted freedom to provide a home for his wife and child.
The ruling gave the Court of Session the opportunity to declare that slavery was not recognised by Scots law and that runaway slaves could be protected by the courts. Historians regard Knight as a key figure that paved the way for abolition of slavery in the UK in 1834.
Perth and Kinross Council, which is leading the City Hall redevelopment, has set aside £10,000 for each of the six commissions for its banner installation.
Its brief for artists states: “This is an exciting opportunity to create work that tells a vital part of the story of Perth and Scotland, to be placed in a major new museum in the centre of Perth.
“We want this new work to tell new stories about historic events, stories that deserve to be heard and have not been told before.
“Within the new museum is a key space on the ground floor immediately adjacent to the Stone of Destiny display area.”
