A Nice Cup of Tea

This project looked behind the familiar English cuppa to the history of Empire and transatlantic slavery with which it is intimately linked. The idea of a cup of tea was used to tell the stories of the legacies of colonialism. It was a joint venture between the Museum of Oxford, the Ashmolean Museum, and local community groups which embedded the story of tea, sugar, and empire into Oxford's past.

Our everyday habit of drinking a cup of tea hides a history linked to Empire and transatlantic slavery.

Chinese tea bowl. Tea was brought to Europe from China by Portuguese priests and merchants during the 1500s.

All Soul’s College Codrington Library was built with money from Christopher Codrington, a sugar-plantation and slave-owner.

A Queen Victoria, Empress of India Jubilee commemoration 'moustache cup' and saucer. Moustaches were compulsory in the British East India Company’s Bombay Army from 1854.

George V Silver Jubilee teacup and saucer. More than 16,000 men from the Caribbean joined the British West Indies Regiment (BWIR) during the First World War.

George V1 Coronation Cup. Between 1838 and 1917 around half a million Indians came and settled across the Caribbean as 'indentured labourers'.

'Beryl' tea cup and saucer. Shortages of materials during the Second World War and into the 1950s meant that this pottery was designed to be as simple and hard-wearing as possible.

Fairly-traded mug from South Africa. In 2015, students at Cape Town University in South Africa began to protest against the legacy of racial oppression at the University and in their curriculum.

Buying fairly-traded tea means a fair wage for workers in India, China and other tea-producing areas.

Photographs from A Nice Cup of Tea Party in June 2018.

If you would like to contribute to this online exhibition, follow this link.