Slavery and Scotland

Articles on the history of slavery and Scotland, including three cases that reached the Court of Session in Edinburgh between 1756 and 1778

Court of session cases

The James Montgomery slavery case

The first case involving the recovery of enslaved people in Scotland occurred in 1756
Dalrymple v Spens

The second case to reach the Court of Session featured David Spens (or Spence), a black enslaved man, and his master, Dr David Dalrymple, from Methil in Fife
The Joseph Knight case

The third, the case of Joseph Knight, was the only one decided by the Court