Philippa Hellawell
@pbhellawell.bsky.social
Historian | Head of Collections Research at The National Archives (UK) | Maritime & colonial history | History of science & medicine | Currently researching Royal African Company/Company of Merchants.
Pinned
Major grant to fund research into the history of transatlantic slavery - The National Archives
The National Archives has been awarded a £1 million grant by Lloyd’s Register Foundation for a new, collaborative research programme on the history of the transatlantic trade in enslaved people. PASSA...
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
I'm very pleased to share news of a new project I am leading at The National Archives. PASSAGE combines archival research on the transatlantic trade of enslaved people with an international programme that centres the research of West African & Caribbean scholars.
Read more here: shorturl.at/XLyC8
Read more here: shorturl.at/XLyC8
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
Very happy that my article on the ackee tree in Jamaica is out! Thanks to @treeseeker.bsky.social and @planthums-uk.bsky.social for editing this excellent special issue.
www.whp-journals.co.uk/PP/article/v...
www.whp-journals.co.uk/PP/article/v...
October 1, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Very happy that my article on the ackee tree in Jamaica is out! Thanks to @treeseeker.bsky.social and @planthums-uk.bsky.social for editing this excellent special issue.
www.whp-journals.co.uk/PP/article/v...
www.whp-journals.co.uk/PP/article/v...
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
Kicking off our fantastic line up with a showcase of new research! Get in touch if you are a postgraduate or early career researcher who would like to introduce their work to the field.
📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
September 30, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Kicking off our fantastic line up with a showcase of new research! Get in touch if you are a postgraduate or early career researcher who would like to introduce their work to the field.
📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
I'll be hosting an online event on encountering extinction in the archives with @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social as part of The National Archives' Research Routes series.
Come along to hear about researching animal histories in the archive!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/extinction...
Come along to hear about researching animal histories in the archive!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/extinction...
Extinction and hope: Navigating animal encounters in the archive
What hope can be found in encounters with animals in archival documents?
www.eventbrite.co.uk
September 9, 2025 at 3:35 PM
I'll be hosting an online event on encountering extinction in the archives with @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social as part of The National Archives' Research Routes series.
Come along to hear about researching animal histories in the archive!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/extinction...
Come along to hear about researching animal histories in the archive!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/extinction...
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
When someone claims that AI can just read all digitized history and discover new things, they should be required to catalog one of the many boxes full of random 17th century papers left over from a chancery case.
August 28, 2025 at 6:47 PM
When someone claims that AI can just read all digitized history and discover new things, they should be required to catalog one of the many boxes full of random 17th century papers left over from a chancery case.
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
Not quite sure how I only just heard about this @nationalarchives.gov.uk.web.brid.gy project led by @pbhellawell.bsky.social but I AM VERY EXCITED about it!
I'm very pleased to share news of a new project I am leading at The National Archives. PASSAGE combines archival research on the transatlantic trade of enslaved people with an international programme that centres the research of West African & Caribbean scholars.
Read more here: shorturl.at/XLyC8
Read more here: shorturl.at/XLyC8
Major grant to fund research into the history of transatlantic slavery - The National Archives
The National Archives has been awarded a £1 million grant by Lloyd’s Register Foundation for a new, collaborative research programme on the history of the transatlantic trade in enslaved people. PASSA...
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
August 27, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Not quite sure how I only just heard about this @nationalarchives.gov.uk.web.brid.gy project led by @pbhellawell.bsky.social but I AM VERY EXCITED about it!
On the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade, I am reflecting on my recent trip to Ghana, where I had the privilege to visit Cape Coast Castle, a place I had encountered countless times, but only through records at The National Archives.
August 23, 2025 at 10:57 AM
On the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade, I am reflecting on my recent trip to Ghana, where I had the privilege to visit Cape Coast Castle, a place I had encountered countless times, but only through records at The National Archives.
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
Current programmes, for which applications are invited, include the Society's Martin Lynn Scholarship in African History.
The Scholarship (£1500) is for a PhD student to undertake research on the history of Africa. Further details: bit.ly/3ssb3c0. Closing date 5 September 2025 #Skystorians
The Scholarship (£1500) is for a PhD student to undertake research on the history of Africa. Further details: bit.ly/3ssb3c0. Closing date 5 September 2025 #Skystorians
June 17, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Current programmes, for which applications are invited, include the Society's Martin Lynn Scholarship in African History.
The Scholarship (£1500) is for a PhD student to undertake research on the history of Africa. Further details: bit.ly/3ssb3c0. Closing date 5 September 2025 #Skystorians
The Scholarship (£1500) is for a PhD student to undertake research on the history of Africa. Further details: bit.ly/3ssb3c0. Closing date 5 September 2025 #Skystorians
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
God, this is dreamy. Three months in Italy to do pre- or postdoctoral archival work!
The Medici Archive Project is offering 12 short-term fellowships for pre-doc students and postdoc candidates, working on fields related to early modern Italy (preferably with a specific emphasis on Tuscan or Medici history). Deadline: 15 June.
www.medici.org/fellowships/
www.medici.org/fellowships/
Fellowships – The Medici Archive Project
www.medici.org
May 26, 2025 at 6:51 PM
God, this is dreamy. Three months in Italy to do pre- or postdoctoral archival work!
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
REMINDER: We offer bursaries of up to £500 per head to support UK-based postgraduate and early career researchers to arrange panels on London-related topics for academic conferences. See here for further details on how to apply (please repost to help spread the word!)
Conference Panel Bursary | The London Journal
The London Journal is eager to support early career scholars present their work on London at conferences and publish articles based on this work. To that end, the Journal is pleased to annouce a conference panel bursary.
www.thelondonjournal.org
May 20, 2025 at 9:43 AM
REMINDER: We offer bursaries of up to £500 per head to support UK-based postgraduate and early career researchers to arrange panels on London-related topics for academic conferences. See here for further details on how to apply (please repost to help spread the word!)
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
The *big thing* I've been finishing is my next book Ruthless, which is coming out in October. It connects the exploitation of land and people across Britain and its empire with scientific and technological innovation to offer a new history of capitalist development.
yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...
yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...
Ruthless - Yale University Press London
A revelatory new history of Britain’s industrial revolution and the exploitation that enabled it Was Britain’s industrial revolution the result o...
yalebooks.co.uk
May 20, 2025 at 11:24 AM
The *big thing* I've been finishing is my next book Ruthless, which is coming out in October. It connects the exploitation of land and people across Britain and its empire with scientific and technological innovation to offer a new history of capitalist development.
yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...
yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...
PASSAGE is recruiting for two fixed-term posts to join me working on 18thC records of enslavement
1) Collections Researcher (Transatlantic Slavery) shorturl.at/aZwqn
2) Project Cataloguer (Transatlantic Slavery) shorturl.at/6aSpz
If you have questions, please let me know & please circulate widely!
1) Collections Researcher (Transatlantic Slavery) shorturl.at/aZwqn
2) Project Cataloguer (Transatlantic Slavery) shorturl.at/6aSpz
If you have questions, please let me know & please circulate widely!
Collections Researcher (Transatlantic Slavery) at The National Archives
Start your UK & international job search for academic jobs, research jobs, science jobs and managerial jobs in leading universities and top...
shorturl.at
March 11, 2025 at 11:31 AM
PASSAGE is recruiting for two fixed-term posts to join me working on 18thC records of enslavement
1) Collections Researcher (Transatlantic Slavery) shorturl.at/aZwqn
2) Project Cataloguer (Transatlantic Slavery) shorturl.at/6aSpz
If you have questions, please let me know & please circulate widely!
1) Collections Researcher (Transatlantic Slavery) shorturl.at/aZwqn
2) Project Cataloguer (Transatlantic Slavery) shorturl.at/6aSpz
If you have questions, please let me know & please circulate widely!
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
We are hiring at St John's! We have an opening for an Early Career Librarian post, 3 year fixed term, salary £27,786, and as part of the role the College will pay the successful candidate's fees and give them day release to undertake a Masters' degree in Librarianship. www.joh.cam.ac.uk/vacancies
Work at St John's | St John's College, University of Cambridge
www.joh.cam.ac.uk
March 6, 2025 at 12:53 PM
We are hiring at St John's! We have an opening for an Early Career Librarian post, 3 year fixed term, salary £27,786, and as part of the role the College will pay the successful candidate's fees and give them day release to undertake a Masters' degree in Librarianship. www.joh.cam.ac.uk/vacancies
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
📣 NEW COURSE
MEET THE TON: THE REAL HISTORY OF FASHIONABLE SOCIETY IN GEORGIAN LONDON
A new four-week course with academic, author and historical advisor Professor Hannah Greig
Starts: Thurs 29 May
Course Fee: £40 (+booking fee)
Sign up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meet-the-t...
MEET THE TON: THE REAL HISTORY OF FASHIONABLE SOCIETY IN GEORGIAN LONDON
A new four-week course with academic, author and historical advisor Professor Hannah Greig
Starts: Thurs 29 May
Course Fee: £40 (+booking fee)
Sign up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meet-the-t...
March 5, 2025 at 8:58 AM
📣 NEW COURSE
MEET THE TON: THE REAL HISTORY OF FASHIONABLE SOCIETY IN GEORGIAN LONDON
A new four-week course with academic, author and historical advisor Professor Hannah Greig
Starts: Thurs 29 May
Course Fee: £40 (+booking fee)
Sign up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meet-the-t...
MEET THE TON: THE REAL HISTORY OF FASHIONABLE SOCIETY IN GEORGIAN LONDON
A new four-week course with academic, author and historical advisor Professor Hannah Greig
Starts: Thurs 29 May
Course Fee: £40 (+booking fee)
Sign up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meet-the-t...
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
📣 Calling early modernists 📣 3 x 4-year jobs at Durham in French, History, & Italian!! Also 3 x PhDs. All working under the banner of 'Inventing Futures' in a wonderful department. Apply / spread the word....
www.durham.ac.uk/research/ins...
www.durham.ac.uk/research/ins...
Inventing Futures Job Opportunities - Durham University
www.durham.ac.uk
February 26, 2025 at 3:18 PM
📣 Calling early modernists 📣 3 x 4-year jobs at Durham in French, History, & Italian!! Also 3 x PhDs. All working under the banner of 'Inventing Futures' in a wonderful department. Apply / spread the word....
www.durham.ac.uk/research/ins...
www.durham.ac.uk/research/ins...
I'm very pleased to share news of a new project I am leading at The National Archives. PASSAGE combines archival research on the transatlantic trade of enslaved people with an international programme that centres the research of West African & Caribbean scholars.
Read more here: shorturl.at/XLyC8
Read more here: shorturl.at/XLyC8
Major grant to fund research into the history of transatlantic slavery - The National Archives
The National Archives has been awarded a £1 million grant by Lloyd’s Register Foundation for a new, collaborative research programme on the history of the transatlantic trade in enslaved people. PASSA...
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
February 26, 2025 at 11:40 AM
I'm very pleased to share news of a new project I am leading at The National Archives. PASSAGE combines archival research on the transatlantic trade of enslaved people with an international programme that centres the research of West African & Caribbean scholars.
Read more here: shorturl.at/XLyC8
Read more here: shorturl.at/XLyC8
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
Please share the CFP for our conference: 'Bodies and Environments in the Early Modern World'. Our keynotes are Marcy Norton @marcynorton.bsky.social (Pennsylvania) & Sara Miglietti (Warburg Institute). Join us 9-10 June at JRRIL, Manchester. Further details at: sites.manchester.ac.uk/sleeping-wel...
December 10, 2024 at 10:46 AM
Please share the CFP for our conference: 'Bodies and Environments in the Early Modern World'. Our keynotes are Marcy Norton @marcynorton.bsky.social (Pennsylvania) & Sara Miglietti (Warburg Institute). Join us 9-10 June at JRRIL, Manchester. Further details at: sites.manchester.ac.uk/sleeping-wel...
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
Early Career Ocean History Scholars! Please take a look at (& share!) the call for the 2025 ICHO Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre Early Career Scholars Prize in Ocean History:
oceansciencehistory.com/2025/01/06/c...
oceansciencehistory.com/2025/01/06/c...
CFP Announcement: 2025 Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre Early Career Scholars Prize in Ocean History
The DHST Commission on the History of Oceanography (ICHO) announces the annual Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre Early Career Scholars Prize for outstanding papers addressing some aspect of ocean history, …
oceansciencehistory.com
January 7, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Early Career Ocean History Scholars! Please take a look at (& share!) the call for the 2025 ICHO Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre Early Career Scholars Prize in Ocean History:
oceansciencehistory.com/2025/01/06/c...
oceansciencehistory.com/2025/01/06/c...
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
New Horizons: Workshop for Emerging Scholars in Maritime History. Looking forward to presenting the @prizepapers.bsky.social & my work in Research & PR management on Tuesday, joined by the wonderful @saracaputo.bsky.social thanks to @slopclothes.bsky.social
Info maritimeworkshops.com
#earlymodern 🗃️
Info maritimeworkshops.com
#earlymodern 🗃️
January 6, 2025 at 5:40 AM
New Horizons: Workshop for Emerging Scholars in Maritime History. Looking forward to presenting the @prizepapers.bsky.social & my work in Research & PR management on Tuesday, joined by the wonderful @saracaputo.bsky.social thanks to @slopclothes.bsky.social
Info maritimeworkshops.com
#earlymodern 🗃️
Info maritimeworkshops.com
#earlymodern 🗃️
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
📢📢📢 Hakluyt Society ECR Essay Prize 2025 📢📢📢
Essays (6k-8k) are invited by ECRs on the history of travel, exploration, cultural encounter or their effects, or that critically engage with the work of the Society.
1st prize £1250 & 2nd prize £250. * Enter by 1/3/25 *
www.hakluyt.com/hakluyt-soci...
Essays (6k-8k) are invited by ECRs on the history of travel, exploration, cultural encounter or their effects, or that critically engage with the work of the Society.
1st prize £1250 & 2nd prize £250. * Enter by 1/3/25 *
www.hakluyt.com/hakluyt-soci...
January 2, 2025 at 7:04 AM
📢📢📢 Hakluyt Society ECR Essay Prize 2025 📢📢📢
Essays (6k-8k) are invited by ECRs on the history of travel, exploration, cultural encounter or their effects, or that critically engage with the work of the Society.
1st prize £1250 & 2nd prize £250. * Enter by 1/3/25 *
www.hakluyt.com/hakluyt-soci...
Essays (6k-8k) are invited by ECRs on the history of travel, exploration, cultural encounter or their effects, or that critically engage with the work of the Society.
1st prize £1250 & 2nd prize £250. * Enter by 1/3/25 *
www.hakluyt.com/hakluyt-soci...
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
A terrific column on why all or even a substantial portion of archives will never be digitized and why writing serious books will continue to take years, involve analog work, stay material, deserve funds and institutional respect. contingentmagazine.org/2019/03/25/m...
Why Do Historians Still Have To Go To Archives?
Why do historians go to archives? Hasn’t everything already been digitized?
contingentmagazine.org
December 30, 2024 at 9:37 PM
A terrific column on why all or even a substantial portion of archives will never be digitized and why writing serious books will continue to take years, involve analog work, stay material, deserve funds and institutional respect. contingentmagazine.org/2019/03/25/m...
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
#histmed Postdoc at University of Edinburgh School of Law. Post is for a historian of medicine, esp. one interested in the history of emotions and/or the law. Modern (1750-present) focus.
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
We are seeking a post-doctoral research fellow to work on a Leverhulme-funded interdisciplinary project titled ‘A History of Hurt Feelings and the Law’. The project is a collaboration between Prof Chl...
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
December 16, 2024 at 5:44 PM
#histmed Postdoc at University of Edinburgh School of Law. Post is for a historian of medicine, esp. one interested in the history of emotions and/or the law. Modern (1750-present) focus.
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
Funding available to cover childcare costs to attend this event.
If you know someone with young children who is working to publish some historical research, please share this with them.
If you know someone with young children who is working to publish some historical research, please share this with them.
🎓An ECR with a piece of 18th c. history writing that could use feedback from 'critical friends'?
Join us at UCL on 19 Feb to get targeted feedback on your paper, and give the same to others. Full details on applying at the link below.
Please share.
adamcrymble.org/cfp-18th-cen...
Join us at UCL on 19 Feb to get targeted feedback on your paper, and give the same to others. Full details on applying at the link below.
Please share.
adamcrymble.org/cfp-18th-cen...
December 4, 2024 at 12:15 PM
Funding available to cover childcare costs to attend this event.
If you know someone with young children who is working to publish some historical research, please share this with them.
If you know someone with young children who is working to publish some historical research, please share this with them.
Can anyone recommend any good project management software for managing research projects? Complete novice here, so the easier, the better!
November 30, 2024 at 10:02 PM
Can anyone recommend any good project management software for managing research projects? Complete novice here, so the easier, the better!
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
Just listened to a fascinating paper by Dr Neil Johnston (The National Archives UK, Head of Early Modern Records) on ‘Securing Ireland, 1660–1685: State Intelligence in the reign of Charles II’. A great start to the ‘Spying on Hibernia’ Symposium.
November 28, 2024 at 10:56 AM
Just listened to a fascinating paper by Dr Neil Johnston (The National Archives UK, Head of Early Modern Records) on ‘Securing Ireland, 1660–1685: State Intelligence in the reign of Charles II’. A great start to the ‘Spying on Hibernia’ Symposium.
Reposted by Philippa Hellawell
Are you a PhD student at a UK/Irish uni, or are you within 3 yrs of award? Did you publish your first academic journal article this year (2024)? Please consider applying for the RHS Early Career Article Prize. Nominations open Mon 2 Dec 24 and close Fri 31 Jan 25: royalhistsoc.org/prizes/royal... 🗃️
Royal Historical Society Early Career Article Prize | RHS
royalhistsoc.org
November 28, 2024 at 10:35 AM
Are you a PhD student at a UK/Irish uni, or are you within 3 yrs of award? Did you publish your first academic journal article this year (2024)? Please consider applying for the RHS Early Career Article Prize. Nominations open Mon 2 Dec 24 and close Fri 31 Jan 25: royalhistsoc.org/prizes/royal... 🗃️