Slavery and Colonialism Are Everyone’s History

[GodessOfThunder]

I was on a thread recently where posters were complaining of slavery and colonialism being “shoehorned” into exhibitions, and were strongly “pushing back” against it being given prominence as a topic in museums and at historic sites. Indeed, transatlantic slavery and colonialism often seem to be regarded as niche historical subjects of interest more to people of colour, and involving only a small number of rich white slave owners and colonial officials.

This perception however, does not reflect reality. Transatlantic slavery effected not only millions of Africans, but pretty much everyone in Britain too. Similarly, colonialism effected not only millions of subjects in the British Empire, but everyone “at home” also. The economy these projects fuelled changed what ordinary people ate and drank and what they wore. They changed how British people thought about non-European people in ways that continue to shape their mindset and create injustice today. Slavery and colonialism helped fund the Industrial Revolution and the jobs people in Britain performed, and much more too.

I’m not suggesting anyone today should feel guilty for these activities. But, these subjects are still all too often not regarded as part of all of our histories. This means attempts to give them proper prominence are met with resistance. If we are to understand British history at a public level properly there is still a great deal of work to do.

I think the existence of racially grounded inequality/injustice is proven beyond reasonable doubt.

If that’s the debate you want to have start your own thread. I’m not spending my time on it.

I’m happy, however, to debate the issue I raised in the first post of this thread.

“the vast majority of the characters involved were doing what they thought made sense within their constraints, just like we do today”

Were you referring to this bit? 😂 Literally didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or sigh

...am I wrong?

@CallumDansTransitVan

" 'perceived' current racism."

Wow.

This is my take on it.

I don't blame modern day Germans for the Nazis killing my grandfather. Don't blame the Scots for William Wallace slaughtering my village. Don't blame Scandinavians for the Vikings raping and pillaging my area or the French for Normans that colonised it. Hell I don't blame Italians for the fact the Romans built a wall and kicked my ancestors off their land.

You cannot cherry pick historical injustices.

Slavery has been endemic throughout history. It was not just people of colour who suffered and indeed many people of colour profited from it. No one need feel guilty for events from centuries ago.

Far better to focus on modern day slavery and the people that are suffering today.

'99% of what I see every day about slavery and colonialism is that it was done by baddies who were problematic and evil. Maybe there's a bit of back-and-forth about whether or not their descendants inherit that guilt, but the guilt of the original people is assumed.'

Millions of Africans died in the transatlantic slave trade, so yes, that is problematic and evil. Of course it isn't the fault of descendants as they were not alive, but those who worked in or supported that trade were guilty.

Shit! You mean I've been wasting my time trying to support what I'm saying with evidence, when 'Opinions' are good enough?

All informed opinions are based on the evidence the person has been exposed to and accepted or rejected as influenced by their own biases.

Providing evidence is how you show the information you have based your opinion on.

I don’t see what the issue is with what @MCOut said.

Personally, I wouldn't enthusiastically proclaim the British as the abolitionists when they played a central role and likely engaged in the extensive exploitation and harm of enslaved individuals throughout that entire era. It's indeed a source of discomfort and embarrassment.

What is the point of this? I don’t speak passive aggressive you’re going to have to come at me straight.

That's precisely the problem. It's a fact that they were the sole abolitionists up to that point in human history - they used their military and political strength to force the rest of the developed world to stop trading in slaves, used the navy to forcibly free every slave on every shipping route they could find, and bought back slaves (and freed them) where they could do none of those things (and, as noted, we only paid that debt off in 2015).

You don't have to like it, but nobody can reasonably claim that it didn't happen.

No it’s not a fact the British were the sole or first to abolish slavery up to that point in human history. Unless you are excluding most of humanity from the definition of “human” which I don’t think is your intent.

What happened is out of the consortium of European countries that conducted the Atlantic slave trade, Britain was the first to stop that one slave trade and then free the slaves from that trade,

That is it. Numerous other empires and countries had in fact abolished all slavery centuries before the British got around to it.

And while we are talking about British abolitionists, it worthwhile mentioning that most of them were Black British and had formed the Sons of Africa. Olaudah Equinano- it’s the founder and leader spoke to Parliament. He and his Black British Sons of Africa had more to do with abolition happening than Wilberforce because they were the ones that exposed the Zong massacre and lobbied MPs all over London.

Great point. This is as aspect of abolitionism the Wilberforce (at least in my experience) fans are less aware of.

Wow OP you’re right. No one in this country hears enough about how bloody awful and racist we are. It just isn’t mentioned. Kids at school learning nothing but how fantastic empire was and how great the slave trade is. My kids can’t stop talking about the great British empire.

Getting back to reality, I think white British people are hammered around the head daily with nothing but how terrible our ancestors were and how we have guilt by association for the slave trade. The slave trade seems to be the defining piece of our history and no other part of it matters.
I’m sorry people don’t like to hear it but the desicion to end slavery was born in England and English lives were lost stopping that trade. It doesn’t make that trade right, but it had gone on for millennia without anyone trying to stop it before.I don’t see Spain or Holland given as much grief as England. I think it is because England was genuinely reflective and remorseful and have highlighted it as a society. I know I went to the wilberforce museum as a child in the 80’s.

When it comes to guilt over slavery it doesn’t matter if your family were in the work house, peasant farmer, fisher folk, servants, factory workers, over in Ireland being persecuted, in Eastern Europe being pogrommed, if you’re white and in the U.K. the only thing you should learn is how awful you are due to something that happened hundreds of years before.

@MoxieFox which ones?

i could be wrong but with your perspectives i can understand your points but the average person at that time may not have drawn the conclusions of the larger picture of new goods, trade, large public projects occurring as a result of the slave trade.

Wikipedia as a great page to get you started on researching the timeline of abolition of slavery around the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_abolition_of_slavery_and_serfdom

ordinary people were effected in many ways regardless of to what extent they were conscious of the source of such influence.

as I’ve said repeatedly this doesn’t make them “guilty” or “bad”

Thanks for outlining how this aspect of history elicits a powerful emotion response in you.

Why do you think that is?

ok, so if you agree that they are not quilty or "bad" whats your purpose of explaining that they were ?
im only asking to try to understand your perspectives better

I don’t know why the facts of history are taken so personally by people living today for only the slave trade. It is truly astonishing.

Sorry, I don’t understand your post. What does “?” refer to?