When visitors enter The Postal Museum’s new exhibition opening next month, they’ll discover a largely untold story of Britain’s colonial past – one where women’s bodies were exploited as living machines to fuel the empire’s global communications network.
“Voices of Resistance: Slavery and Post in the Caribbean,” running from April through January 2026, excavates the hidden history of enslaved African women forced to carry massive loads of coal to fuel British mail ships in the Caribbean during the 19th century. The exhibition represents a significant shift in how cultural institutions are addressing Britain’s colonial legacy.
“This exhibition isn’t just filling in missing details – it’s rewriting the narrative of British postal history,” says Dr. Eliza Montgomery, historian of Caribbean colonial studies at University College London. “The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company’s operations literally couldn’t have functioned without the exploitation of enslaved labor, particularly women’s labor.”
The focal point of the exhibition is the island of St. Thomas (now part of the U.S. Virgin Islands), where predominantly female coal workers carried crushing loads – collectively transporting up to 800 tonnes daily, equivalent to five modern cars – to fuel mail ships. These “packet ships” maintained Britain’s colonial communications network while enabling absentee plantation owners to manage their operations from a comfortable distance.
What makes this exhibition particularly groundbreaking is its emphasis on resistance. Rather than portraying enslaved people merely as victims, it highlights their agency and resilience through stories like the 1892 Coal Workers’ Strike led by Queen Coziah, which successfully secured better wages.
“We’re seeing a crucial evolution in how cultural institutions address difficult histories,” explains cultural critic James Wilson. “Rather than simply acknowledging exploitation, this exhibition centers the voices and experiences of those who fought back.”
The Postal Museum has taken an unusually collaborative approach, working with community groups in both London and St. Thomas to develop the exhibition’s narrative. This includes a partnership with Dollar fo’ Dollar, an organization that has spent two decades preserving the memory of St. Thomas’s coal workers.
“For too long, our ancestors’ stories have been either erased or told by others,” says Ayesha Morris, co-founder of Dollar fo’ Dollar. “This exhibition gives us the opportunity to share their resistance, resilience, and cultural legacy on an international stage.”
Newly uncovered archival material reveals correspondence between UK plantation owners and Caribbean managers, offering glimpses into the lives and resistance of enslaved workers. Curators have employed the methodology of reading “against the grain” – extracting the experiences of enslaved people from documents written by their enslavers.
The exhibition features a specially commissioned film showing Dollar fo’ Dollar’s annual commemoration of the coal workers, alongside artifacts including historical postcards, letters, and contemporary artistic responses. Members of the Caribbean Social Forum have created baskets inspired by those used by the coal workers, while African, Caribbean, and Black diaspora women currently employed by Royal Mail have developed artistic responses to these historical narratives.
Also highlighted is Mary Prince, whose 1831 autobiography – the first published account of slavery by a Black woman – helped shift public opinion about the institution. The exhibition connects these historical acts of resistance to ongoing efforts to acknowledge and address the legacies of colonialism in contemporary Britain.
Laura Wright, CEO of The Postal Museum, acknowledges the institution’s responsibility in telling these stories: “Cultural institutions have a duty to present more complete histories, especially when they involve our own organizations. The postal service benefited from and enabled the system of transatlantic slavery, and that’s a history we need to confront honestly.”
The exhibition arrives amid growing conversations about how Britain’s cultural institutions should address the country’s colonial past. Recent years have seen heated debates around the repatriation of artifacts, the contextualizing of historical figures associated with slavery, and the diversification of perspectives represented in museums and galleries.
“Voices of Resistance” will run from April 5, 2025, to January 5, 2026, accompanied by a program of events including performances, workshops, and family activities designed to make these complex histories accessible to diverse audiences.
For visitors wishing to experience the exhibition, tickets start at £7.70 for children and include unlimited entry to the museum for a full year.
