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.

You wrote: “There was an issue with what you wrote… in your generalisation about the slave trade having altered the lives of ordinary people. It didn't. Certainly not all of them. Probably not even the majority of them. The wealth generated by the slave trade did not filter down to the millions who lived in abject poverty in disease-ridden slums.”

You seem to think I’m arguing slavery and colonialism “benefitted” everyone’s lives. I’ve not mentioned “benefitting” at all. That wasn’t the point I made if you re-read my original post

“The economy these projects fuelled changed what ordinary people ate and drank (sugar, tea (to some extent), chocolate, coffee etc) 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.”

They affected nearly everyone to
different degrees in the ways I mention. To throw in another example: Lancashire’s mills in which hundreds of thousands of British workers toiled, got much of their cotton from American plantations and their wares were exported to the colony of India .

Reducing the history of slavery and colonialism to a balance sheet of who benefited or was oppressed is limiting and not the point I’m making. The point I am phenomena effected many people in Britain and needs to be understood better.

not the one I was looking for but clearly others were filmed

https://www.loc.gov/collections/voices-remembering-slavery/about-this-collection/

Library of Congress including interviews with freed slaves, interviewed as recently as 1975

No one else seems to have had any problems understanding, but here’s the TLDR version just for you:

Feel guilty, whitey.

Yeah, there's nothing like hectoring and sarcasm to help people focus on your argument.

I had to check the exact date of abolition to answer your post. It was 1865.

So lets imagine for the person claiming to have been born into slavery out of the transatlantic slave trade, they had to have been born at the very latest 1865. Making them 158 years old.

I replied with the same tone as the commenter deployed. Call it bonding :)

Reducing the history of slavery and colonialism to a balance sheet of who benefited or was oppressed is limiting and not the point I’m making. The point I am phenomena effected many people in Britain and needs to be understood better.

I think to understand slavery you need to look into the full history of slavery and that is THOUSANDS of years of cross cultural history and the trading of peoples across borders, usually the losing side in a war. You need to also drop all blame and listen to stories with an open mind, understand the geopolitical landscape of the time, technology, cultures etc.

I am Indian by heritage married to white DH. I would like to see more history presented from the perspective of migrant communities to the UK. Slavery should be part of this. Balance though is important. The UK played a big part in the slave trade and provided the economic resource which drove it. It did not however invent the trade and it largely purchased slaves from West Africans who also traded with the Arabs. It also eventually stopped the trade and led on stopping the trade worldwide.

I often debate the role of the UK in India and the role of the East India Company with my DH. It is amazing to think of a major corporate business with its own army, engaging in wars and plunder to further business interests. However that is our history. DH would argue that the white working class were also abused and exploited.

The films weren't made recently. They are archive footage. But the fact there is documentary film footage of people born into slavery makes it living and recent history.

African Americans today suffer disproportionately from poverty, ill health, low life expectancy, poor educational outcomes, incarceration etc. as a result of the legacy of slavery, the structural inqualities that arose from its aftermath and the ongoing racism that was at its heart.

It's fascinating, even more so if you draw comparison between different nations. Britain of them to China of now. Mass rapid industrialisation off the back of forced or cheap labour. Colonisation via the back door through diplomacy and trade... the similarities are stark.

Of course context is always useful, but would you say we have to look at, say, the history of war across the past 10,000 years, to teach people something about World War 2 or the Holocaust? Of course you wouldn’t; so why are you raising this specifically with connection to slavery?

I’m not suggesting anyone today needs to feel guilty or Britain is unique in its involvement in slavery.

I replied with the same tone as the commenter deployed. Call it bonding :)

That's disingenuous. You accused a PP who wrote about the fact that slavery has been a feature of all empires, and that countries on the African continent carried on enslaving people - a post that was simply a statement of facts - as having an 'attitude'.

Not sure what has suddenly got you agitated enough to write this post, but you sound hectoring and dismissive of anyone who doesn't fully agree, and this rarely wins hearts or minds.

I'm sure I could archive footage of people discussing witnessing hangings in the UK or being born into servitude.
During the same period being discussed in the video, we still sent children up chimneys.

Acceptng and discussing it as history is fine. Using it as a stick to beat a false racism drum is not.

Yes. Because as any GCSE historian will tell you, to understand WW2 you need to understand WW1 and its fall out, how Europe operated with its royal families, how Russia fell apart due to the Bolshevik Revolution, the impact the invention of the tank and plane had, the impact of industrialisation and the machine gun etc on modern warfare...

You probably could given the last hanging in the UK was in the 1960s

@ntmdino Oh give over.

The African slave trade was the industrialisation of slavery on a scale not seen before, and yes it was racially targeted.

And no Britain doesn’t deserve a whole bunch of credit for outlawing slavery, given that prior to that it got v rich off it. And no it doesn’t matter if the Dutch started the transatlantic trade or the British (who cares). And yes, it’s pretty obvious from correspondence at the time people in the UK knew very well that enslaving humans was immoral.

The money generated by slavery provided a handy bedrock for the Industrial Revolution, which, by the way, depended heavily on slavery - the cotton turned into cloth in Uk mills was picked by American slaves. This cotton became Britain’s biggest export, so the Uk was profiting directly from slavery long after it had banned it.

It would be better for everyone if the nations involved in slavery acknowledged their history. Self flagellation has nothing to do with the fact Britain doesn’t do this, although, as your post ably demonstrates, ignorance very much does. It’s not your fault you weren’t taught this stuff in school, no one was - but if you are going to spout off, do some proper reading.

Some breath-taking - and in some cases seemingly wilful - ignorance on this thread.

I agree with all you say in your opening post OP.

Those questioning the widespread impact of slavery on all parts of British society could start by looking at some of the findings of the UCL Legacies of Slavery Project:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/

The period you speak of in India & the 'Silk Road' is absolutely fascinating. I agree wholeheartedly that some UK companies made fortunes from some very questionable business dealings out there.

I don't think it is much of an exaggeration to say that slavery in the USA is in living memory. I think I'm right in saying that through much of the 20th century African American children could be picking cotton in the places where their recent ancestors would have done so as slaves, and possibly attending school around the picking season. It's pretty clear how that can still affect people living now. I'm sure there will be a British equivalent of some kind. Of course in other parts of the world today children are still picking cotton and we may well be wearing it.

You can't discuss the British people as one homogenous mass though, especially in the era we are discussing. The average working class person of that time didn't know or didn't care about much more than getting food on the table and keeping a roof over their heads.

Exactly.

But let's keep in mind that this is British history. So while our role in slavery - alongside many other European, African and Arab nations - should be taught, including our instrumental role on abolition, it is the history of British people we teach with a bit of the rest of the world. Hence teaching the world wars, Industrial Revolution etc - British history.

What do you expect people to “do” as a result of learning about, say Charles II, Neanderthals, the Battle of Hastings etc?

It’s true there is value in learning about slavery and colonialism to better understand their ongoing problematic legacies today. But, that said, they are hugely important historical episodes in and of themselves. They deserve to be better understood to the level of other such episodes within our past.

It does indeed impact every one world wide. I'm white, parents, grandparents, great grandparents all white. Family have lived in the West country for centuries.
One ancestor took part in the Monmouth rebellion in 1685. Barbadosed by judge Jefferies at the bloody assizes. That is sent to the West Indies to be a slave.
As you say sugar, tobacco, cotton all farmed by slaves.

But as others say it's part of world history..Moses lead the Israelites out of slavery.

I think it needs to be taught but not as the main subject but as an adjunct in that this was supported by slavery, or this lead to slavery or this was part funded by slavery

There is a great film about William Wilberforce called Amazing Grace if you want a "history lite" version of the abolitionists. Ioan Gruffudd and Benedict Cumberbatch.