Support for Ben Franklin's world comes from the

Omaha Institute of Early American History and Culture,

proud citizens of Australia America,

and the primary partners in the Georgian Papers Program.

The Georgian Papers Program aims to digitize, interpret, and make available an extraordinarily rich

collection of correspondence, maps, and royal household ledgers created by the Georgian kings

of England and their families.

This program is really big because it seeks to

make available it's approximately 350,000 items to the world. Digital access

to this collection promises to really change our understanding of the Georgian period and of 18th and only 19th century North America.

Now, as part of its contribution to this program, the Omahahandro Institute is sending scholars to Windsor Castle, where they work alongside

Rail Archivists as they seek to gain greater insight into these rich materials.

Curious about what these scholars are finding in the Georgian papers?

Suzanne Schwartz, a professor of history at the University of Worcester in England,

related that her trip to the Royal Archives provided an invaluable opportunity to trace

how leading members of the British Royal Family and

household responded to debates about slavery, Africa, and abolition in the aftermath of

American independence. She noted that the Georgian papers reveal a large increase in the royal family's references to the Atlantic slave trade, West Africa, slavery, and to West Indian civil and military affairs.

She mentioned that her findings provide clear evidence that the Georgians were diverse in their interests and that their papers have the potential to expand what we know about slavery and abolition.

Soon, you'll be able to investigate the papers Schwartz had a chance to look at because

thanks to the Omaha Institute Royal Archivists are digitizing these materials so that

anyone who has an interest in them can explore them too.

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