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The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership is a research centre of the University College, London which focuses on revealing the impact of British slavery.

Purpose
The Centre's director, Nick Draper, and its chairperson, Catherine Hall, argue that the central purpose of the Legacies database is to counter "selective forgetting" whereby society forgets the human cost of slavery but celebrates the emancipation of slavery. The Centre's work is freely available online to the public through the Legacies of British Slave-ownership database, the intention being that any one can easily access the records.

However, as Hall has stated, beneficiaries of slavery were not only people who owned slaves, but were also people whose business dealings derived benefit from slavery.

Impact
The Centre has attracted significant news media attention, globally.

United Kingdom
The research upon which the Legacies database is based revealed that some 46,000 Britons received compensation, accounting for around 10% of all Britons and 15% of aristocrats. Many notable people, including former Prime Minister David Cameron and Benedict Cumberbatch, are decedents of people who benefited from slavery. Slavery has been found to have generated immense wealth. For example, the London business district known as the Isle of Dogs , arose from speculation in the slave trade. Another example is New Town, Edinburgh. The University of Glasgow launched an enquiry to understand the impact of slavery on the institution. Many slaveholders and beneficiaries of slavery are recognised in the United Kingdom through public honours. A number of business in existence in 2019 benefited from slavery.

Australia
The Centre's work has recently been considered by scholars, including Clinton Fernandes and Humphrey McQueen. The Legacies database revealed numerous connections to slavery that had previously been overlooked or unknown. Recent research has revealed that South Australia may owe its existence to slavery, through the efforts of George Fife Angas and Raikes Currie. Another Australian state, Victoria, has been shown to have had many former slaveholders and beneficiaries of slavery in its history, a number of whom are recognised in public honours, including place-names and statuary.

The Australian Dictionary of Biography has been criticized for its failure to mention connections to slavery in the biographical entries of notable Australians. However, the ADB is currently undergoing a review that aims to address this - and other - deficiencies.

United States
Actor Ben Affleck apologised after Wikileaks revealed he had attempted to stop a television show revealing his connection to slavery, which had arisen as a result of the Legacies database.