Exhibit to mark slave trade past

The collar was worn by servant Alexander Stewart

A new exhibition marking 200 years since the abolition of the slave trade in Britain has opened in Alloa.

The event, called Another Kind of Slavery, looks at the trade in black slaves and serfdom in Scotland before 1800.

Among the exhibits from all over Scotland is an engraved brass collar dating from 1701 worn by a local man forced into perpetual slavery.

The exhibition will run until 31 October at Alloa Tower.

The slave trade provided cheap labour for British plantations in America and the Caribbean.

Many Scots were plantation owners and dominated the Virginian tobacco market as Glasgow became the centre for imports.

Army deserters

In addition to the black slave trade, the exhibit also looks at the serfdom endured by mineworkers and salt panners in Scotland from about 1600 until 1799.

Alexander Stewart is believed to be one of those who was sentenced to slavery.

He was one of four men condemned to death in Perth for theft and burglary in 1701.

His sentence was later reduced to that of a perpetual servant to Sir John Erskine of Alva.

The engraved brass collar which Stewart was forced to wear was found in the River Forth in Logie parish in the 18th century, suggesting he may have escaped servitude.

National Museums Scotland loaned the brass collar worn by Stewart along with a branding iron found in Aberdeenshire used to brand slaves and army deserters.