Jun 2020
11:46am, 8 Jun 2020
64,452 posts
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swittle
Add Liverpool and Hull to cities that would look very different indeed if buildings erected on the back of the profits of the slave trade were 'removed'.
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Jun 2020
11:51am, 8 Jun 2020
19,341 posts
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DeeGee
Don't tell Hull that too loudly, they're very proud of William Wilberforce.
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Jun 2020
11:54am, 8 Jun 2020
14,129 posts
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richmac
'wholesale erasure of the past isn't desirable either.' So Saddam Hussein's statue shouldn't have been pulled down after the gulf war and there should still be a huge swastika sitting on top the Reichstag? |
Jun 2020
11:55am, 8 Jun 2020
7,559 posts
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jda
A building isn't the same as a monument. I wonder how outraged some people were over the removal of Saddam Hussein's statue?
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Jun 2020
11:56am, 8 Jun 2020
64,455 posts
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swittle
"The museum [in Wilberforce House] tells the story of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and its abolition, as well as dealing with contemporary slavery." humbermuseums.com But I've been keenly aware of WWs impact on abolition for many years. |
Jun 2020
11:58am, 8 Jun 2020
11,771 posts
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Markymarkmark
And a large part of London, Manchester.... In fact, anywhere in the UK with a mercantile history starting much after the 16th Century. Hull has a truly excellent anti-slavery museum in the Wilberforce House. It left me shaken. But the issue isn't only(?) one of not celebrating slavery is it? It's about listening now to the people who have experienced prejudice and injustice, not to react but to understand. Listen to their cries, and then to put in place mechanisms with them to deal with the issue. |
Jun 2020
12:00pm, 8 Jun 2020
2,367 posts
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Canute
I strongly believe that overall humans have tended to become the ‘better angels of ourselves’ over our history. We should not erase the record of that progress. The Colosseum is an icon of the Roman empire. It was a site of inhuman gladiatorial events. It probably evoked both painful memories and memories of glory for citizen of ancient Rome, but is now a valuable reminder of human history. During my lifetime I have been aware of both the horrors and the glories of the British Empire. I consider that we should preserve memorials to the great figures of the empire, provided we foster an awareness of both the good and bad aspects of their actions. However, when I was first taught about of the glories the British empire over 60 years ago, slavery was regarded as evil. There has long been a consensus that slavery was (and is) egregious. Memory of slavery continues to be a source of pain for many members of our own society. It is abhorrent that memorials to the perpetrators of slavery should be displayed in a manner that celebrates them. I do not advocate violence. I was delighted to see images of socially-distanced protest in Glasgow and Belfast over the week end; I had much more mixed feeling about crowded peaceful protest in London, and deep disappointment at images of violent protest in Whitehall. However I could not feel anything other than a sense that we have taken another a small step towards becoming the better angels of ourselves when Colston was tossed into the harbour. |
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Jun 2020
12:01pm, 8 Jun 2020
64,457 posts
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swittle
The International Slavery Museum within the Albert Dock, Liverpool marks the city's involvement with the trade in similarly hard hitting style. liverpoolmuseums.org.uk |
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Jun 2020
12:01pm, 8 Jun 2020
19,342 posts
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DeeGee
It might be that I've misunderstood the role of various ports in British history, but as I understand it, Liverpool and Bristol as ports on the Atlantic side of the country were key players in the triangular trade, and ports on the east such as Hull were more involved in shipping the products that resulted from slave labour outwards towards the continental markets for woven cotton and such like. It's not really fair to say that Hull was built on the slave trade, certainly not like Liverpool was, although it was built on money from products which involved slavery, so indirectly, I suppose. And the anti-slavery movement was strong in Hull. |
Jun 2020
12:01pm, 8 Jun 2020
19,908 posts
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Dvorak
And Glasgow. Slavery and tobacco. Edinburgh just handled the money. Mind you, Scotland also has more than a few commemorations of our own conquerors and oppressors staring us in the face. |
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