Virtual Branch Film

As British and Irish migrants sought new lives in the Caribbean, Asia, North America and Australasia, they left a trail of physical remains where settlement occurred. Between the 17th and 20th centuries, gravestones and elaborate epitaphs documented identity and attachment to both their old and new worlds.

In this Virtual Branch talk Dr Nicholas J Evans expands upon earlier examination of cultural imperialism to reveal how individuals, kinship groups and occupational connections identified with place and space over time. Whether exploring abroad or in local churchyards and cemeteries closer to home, he considers how memorials to the departed are an untapped resource to those interested in British migrant history.

Dr Nicholas J Evans is Senior Lecturer in diaspora history at the Department of History at the University of Hull. This talk draws upon his most recent work edited with Professor Angela McCarthy entitled Death in Diaspora: British and Irish Gravestones.