Global Threads

Reweaving Manchester’s cotton connections

Welcome to Global Threads, a public history project that draws out new and previously under-represented stories related to Manchester’s cotton industry, particularly those linked to colonialism, enslavement and global movements of people and goods.

Framed cotton fibre samples, about 1900.
Science Museum Group Collection.

About the project

Global Threads began in 2019 and is a collaboration between the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at University College London, the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester and a diverse team of talented researchers.

We aim to create new networks and conversations about Manchester’s textiles heritage, weaving together narratives about lived experience, resistance, solidarity and industrialisation.

Here, you can explore the research carried out by the Global Threads team so far and discover people, places and museum objects that reveal stories about Manchester’s local and global cotton connections

Explore our Global Threads

The Global Threads case studies have been written by our team, who came together to carry out original research into Manchester’s people, places, memorials and museum objects. You can explore their work below, or find out more about the project’s themes and browse the case studies here.