Barclays Bank removes name of slave-owning tobacco lord Andrew Buchanan from new HQ in Glasgow
- Banking giant says Northern hub will now be named ‘Barclays Glasgow Campus’
- It comes after hundreds signed petition calling for the name to be changed
- Developers Drum Property Group say insist it was named after steamboat owner
A banking giant has dropped the name of a slave-owning tobacco lord from its under-construction Northern hub in the midst of country-wide anti-racism protests.
Barclays have removed the name ‘Buchanan’ from its riverside Buchanan Wharf development in Glasgow.
It comes following a petition against the name of the site, which will be home to Barclay’s offices, as well as 300 apartments, once built.
The name of the site is thought to have connotations to the tobacco merchant and former Lord Provost of Glasgow, Andrew Buchanan, one of the Scotland’s most famous ‘tobacco lords’ who had plantations in Virginia.
It is thought the lords may have owned up to 300 slaves and some fought the abolition of slavery.
Drum Property Group, who are working on the site, insist the development was actually named after Captain William Buchanan, ‘one of Glasgow’s most well-known steamboat owners’.
However Barclays have today confirmed the development will be now known as the ‘Barclays Glasgow Campus’.
Barclays have removed the name ‘Buchanan’ from its riverside Buchanan Wharf development in Glasgow. Pictured: An artist’s impression of the site
The Scottish merchant who made his fortunes from tobacco plantations in Virginia
Andrew Buchanan of Drumpellier was a Scottish tobacco merchant who was on of Glasgow’s ‘Tobacco Lords’.
The lords, who comprised of merchants and slave traders, made enormous fortunes in the 18th century, which they spent on many grand buildings which still stand in Glasgow today.
It is thought collectively they had around 300 slaves.
Buchanan was one of the first Scots to have tobacco plantations in America, with major holdings in Virginia.
In 1725 he set up a charity which gave financial help to apprentices and widows, but only those with the surname of Buchanan.
He died in Glasgow in 1759 and is buried in the centre of the city.
He has a street named after him, which was built after his death.
Glasgow City council has been notified of the plan, Glasgow Live reports.
A spokesperson for Barclays told the local news website: ‘Barclays has a consistent naming convention for our key global sites.
‘In line with that practice we took the decision last year that our new state-of-the-art facilities in Glasgow will be called the Barclays Glasgow Campus.
‘We will be using the city’s historic Tradeston district in our address and we have already notified Glasgow City Council of our intention.’
A spokesperson for Drum Property Group told Glasgow Live: ‘As the Buchanan Wharf site progresses, so will the names associated with the development change as occupiers take ownership of their own buildings and rename them accordingly. This is a natural evolution of any development process.
‘In the meantime, we are fully supportive of the City of Glasgow’s commitment to widen both debate and education on the matter of the city’s merchant and slavery past and look forward to participating in the forthcoming programme of consultation.
The change of name comes after a petition, signed by hundreds of people, was launched calling for the name to be changed due to Buchanan’s links to the slave trade.
The petition states: ‘Glasgow should not be glorifying the horrific barbarity of the slave trade and its slave masters by naming its new city centre riverside development Buchanan Wharf.’
Meanwhile anti-racism campaigners have renamed a handful of streets in Glasgow city centre that have links to the slave trade.
Streets named after tobacco merchants and slave trade owners were replaced in favour of black campaigners and slaves by a group of activists.
Anti-racism campaigners have renamed a handful of streets in Glasgow city centre that have links to the slave trade, including Buchanan Street
Streets named after tobacco merchants and slave trade owners were replaced in favour of black campaigners and slaves by a group of activists. Pictured: Wilson Street is replaced by Rosa Parks Street – in honour of the American civil rights campaigner
Buchanan Street, named after Andrew Buchanan, was given the name George Floyd Street after the man George Floyd, who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis last month.
His death, for which officer Derek Chauvin was charged with murder, sparked days of protest around the world, including in England.
Over the weekend in Bristol, protesters pulled down a statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston and dumped it into a nearby harbour.
Thousands of Black Lives Matter supporters also took to the streets in London over the weekend, where a small number of protesters clashed with police and 27 police officers were injured.