“Smuggling Children: The Trent Family and Illicit Labor in the British Atlantic” – Virtual Lecture

Talk by Dr. Angela Austin

Thousands of children from across England, Scotland, and Ireland were taken from their homes and shipped to North America against their will, transported by wealthy merchants and political leaders who profited from their labor.

Families like the Trents and their associates, the Coutts family, participated in these illegal trade networks, using child labor to fuel their economic success and influence. Both families amassed wealth through clandestine operations, including the trafficking of undocumented child servants, strengthening their prominence in the transatlantic economy.

By uncovering the complicity of powerful families and government institutions in child trafficking, this presentation by Angela Austin describes how child labor factored into British imperial expansion and how the Trent family’s involvement in these activities shaped their legacy.