Do I feel like I had anything to do it? And the third, fourth, fifth, and so on. That hes able to write this article is because hes living in what is, by historical standards, a remarkably tolerant society. Video, 1894 shipwreck confirms tale of treacherous lifeboat, BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3: The Meaning of Zong, BBC Bitesize: The Zong 1781-1783 - The triangular trade, during a debate on Black History and Cultural Diversity in the Curriculum, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Explosive found in check-in luggage at US airport, Fungus case forces Jack Daniels to halt construction, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Fire knocks out half of Argentina's power grid, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US, Starbucks illegally fired workers over union - judge. One in which enslaved people suffered and even died from malnutrition, as the economics of the slave trade meant that it was cheaper, at times, to starve people and then replace them than it was to provide them with food. The South Sea bubble, the greatest financial crash of the 18th century, was intimately connected to Britains dealings with Africa, though this is rarely acknowledged by historians. Anglo-Saxons had slaves. White people will take it. Needless to say, the national mood changed. I learned the hard way. A covering letter would be a courtesy but probably not a necessity. Within the EU the two most common ages of consent are 14 and 15 (if Ive done my counting correctly), though in some but not all cases thats with additional restrictions on permissible age gaps. No one has said we should not consider someone elses viewpoint. But its still awful, even on a historical scale. Rather that certain western states, still in existence therefore potentially still liable, regulated and indeed encouraged the development of both the transatlantic slave trade and the slave-labour economic systems of the colonies, at scales that were unusual in the long and varied history of slavery, and levels of brutality that stood out too. This ignorant fellow should study historical facts, rather than believing and repeating lies and half-truths. But morals are very transient things. Thats what I dont like about the angle of Tims header. Then the second. Thats why we get it. For some peculiar reason possibly because theres a section of Western society has become very insecure about its own position its being some credence. The agreement is being touted as a . When the American Civil War interrupted the supply of cotton, hundreds of thousands of British workers were made destitute, dependent on soup kitchens, and the British economy was dealt a thunderous blow, all because an ocean away the forced labour of four million enslaved black Americans had been disrupted. That assumes an increase in demand. Young people - such as Lavinya Stennett who founded the Black Curriculum campaign group - have been calling for change. As would Beyonce. They all get it from White people inciting violence. It doesnt end with the parties saying Well that was pleasantly intellectually stimulating, now lets have a nice game of cricket Youre opponents are not playing by the same rules as you are. Societies have what morals suit them. In 1860, cotton goods accounted for 40 per cent of all British exports. Away from the creative arts, the Equiano Project aims to promote race equality and he was mentioned in Parliament during a debate on Black History and Cultural Diversity in the Curriculum. Presumably there were normal times when food was cheap that you fed your workers and didnt seek to replace them in the way Olusoga means. * the legal institution and pretty much the practice So how much have considered paedophilia? He is the undisputed King of the Internet Pedants and Lord of the Unnecessary Snark. It seems absurd to me that anyone should be concerned about what happened 200 or 500 years ago. Olusoga, who is half-Nigerian, traces this focus to his mother telling him when he was a child that Nigerian soldiers served in World War II. Whoever has the upper-hand in power political, cultural, economic, military or whatever other form is decisive at that moment. Its entirely possible to think something was awful without feeling the slightest twinge of guilt or personal responsibility. Nor do I think that sugar is worse than cotton. Hes welcome to pursue his line of thought but he should bear in mind that tolerance is, by its nature, in the gift of the powerful. Married an American GI after the war. The strongest argument I can see for reparations is not that white people bear some kind of ancestral blame. Over 1000 years in Britain. If the alternative was that they were killed? Some were sold to other African tribes and the rest kept as slaves. . David Olusoga, introduces his book Black and British, an exploration of the relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa. (and white people was pretty much the British). Tim says there might be some truth to them for the Caribbean. At the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Britain was granted the right to supply slaves to the Spanish colonies in the Americas, a right then passed on to the South Sea Company. many African tribes kept slaves. My great, great, grandfather was one. I havent said anything about my personal sense of guilt or responsibility. Read about our approach to external linking. Not many remember anything about segregation either. Obama had none. They may have been turning people they would have killed into a profitable commodity. (At least in our society) Get over it. By a Senegalese author: The veiled genocide = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxc5ENT8ajg, MyBurningEars August 30, 2020 at 11:52 am Slavery within West African societies being different again I dont think the places with very high rates of local slavery were anything like the sugar plantations. The book accompanying. Purely speculatively, and as a matter of prediction rather than judging whats best, its hard to imagine large-scale reparations ever being adopted in Blighty because the ratio of losers to winners with the vote (presuming eg British Asians would be ineligible for compensation) is going to remain unfavourable and the cost of reparations across the relevant parts of the old Empire (if youre compensating British Jamaicans, presumably youre going to compensate all the Jamaicans in Jamaica once youve accepted the principle) would be considerable. But that ignores how the demand of outsiders led inevitably to far more supply being provided, so I dont think the traders can be given a pass on this front either. It isnt happening now. If there were African states with legal continuity to those political entities which established and encouraged the African slave markets, they would be on the hook too, but theres a discontinuity due to colonialism and besides, everyone knows to sue the rich guy not the poor guy. And, of course, being half white, he is only entitled to half the reparation payment. The arguments do you want to get shaken down for several trillion?. You lost those two. The UK, Norway, Benelux, Spain, Malta and Switzerland are, I believe, the only western European countries to set it at 16. Re putting the argument for paedophilia they actually gave Gide the Nobel prize for literature didnt they? They are stupid false for America. Hey, we do not even have to go that far. How does it benefit anyone to make an issue about particular events? So 10.416 were sold by the Africans every month for one hundred years, There will be no peace on this issue until black people acknowledge their own responsibility for the trade. The Royal African Company, established by Charles II in 1672, eventually enslaved and transported more Africans than any other company in British history. It does not take people long to starve to death and slaves were paid for. Read about our approach to external linking. To be honest, I was a bit sceptical about the Olympics coming to London, but the atmosphere across the capital was genuinely wonderful . Support 100 years of independent journalism. not at all to disparage your ancestors GC. We could just cut to the chase, and impose a reparations tax on anyone who is descended from from anyone who did something, er, wrong. The historian tells Michael Segalov about getting up early, reading George Orwell, taking his dog George for a walk, playing his guitar Should black history be taught all year round? Olusoga has benefited from and added significantly to the work of Fryer and other historians such as James Walvin. Make sure it doesnt happen in the least costly way. After all, adult males were all but worthless and demand for women might have been enough to drive the trade anyway. Its a shame "I don't know why this generation has a different relationship with the past, goes to the past, expecting and looking for different things to earlier generations, but that's really is my observation about them," he says adding the internet has played a huge part. Hes insisting that a household headed by a 21 year old black should have the average wealth of all white households. To me personally, this is the thing. I hadnt gotten far when she stopped me cold, pointing out that her best friend, a 15 year old girl knitting beside a window in her house, was machine gunned by an American P-51 pilot. In the case of slavery the answer is clear. Black and British: A Forgotten History addresses one of the greatest silences in British historiography. Welsh slave-raids into England continued until early Norman times. Vikings took slaves, including exporting Anglo-Saxons (you must have heard the quote Non Angli, sed Angeli about the English slaves being sold in Italy? See, five years ago I wouldnt have written a crass comment like that, but hey, times achanging and as financially independent with some FU-money, I dont have to worry about cancellation culture, LOL. The Sokoto Caliphate probably had as many slaves and a lot fewer free men as the Old South. Should black history be taught all year round? Those aged 11-14 have to be taught about the British Empire between 1745-1901, however the slave trade is one of nine examples given by the Department of Education on what can be taught. I cant see this one surviving people being expected to dig into their pockets for a few trillion. True that unlike certain other examples of slavery, you werent likely to be killed as part of a religious sacrifice or as part of your owners funeral. No doubt life expectancy of a slave was shorter than that for a free man. His choice of subject and his choice of material make that very clear. Would, say, Huguenot-descended South Africans suing France over the 1572 St. Bartholomews Day massacre, or Cornish people suing HMG for the suppression of the 1497 Rebellion, deserve compensation?. He was Chairman of Moneysupermarket Group from 2014 to 2019 and Senior Independent Director of Close Brothers Group plc from 2006 to 2014 and is a Past President of the Chartered Management Institute. Thousands of petitions were presented to parliament. "The phenomena of which he is iconic is one that we have written out, edited out of our nation. Then, in October, came a breakthrough. I generally reckon cant blame me, my distant relative was on your side arguments are pretty weak since relying on a doctrine of virtues of the fathers risks implicitly accepting sins of the fathers. Olusoga has written stand-alone history books as well as those accompanying his television series. David Olusoga Historian, broadcaster and film-maker. Prof Olusoga says statues, such as those of slave traders . The argument isnt whether historical slavery was right or wrong or who should accept responsibility for it. Thats before you get on to the Khoisan and the Zulus, the Carthaginians and Romans, the Vikings versus pretty much anyone else who lived within raiding distance, Theres a fundamental weakness with all theories of universal law or justice, which is that across time and space, the human conception of what is right and just seems to be extremely varied and rarely (to modern Western eyes) pleasant. I do not see what is different between a plantation in Africa and a plantation in Virginia. I havent the faintest idea whether slavery in the Roman controlled areas of Britain was more along the continental Roman model or retained Celtic characteristics. Dr Peter Olusoga is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology. and while the responsible state still exists, Theres a fundamental weakness with all theories of universal law or justice, which is that across time and space, the human conception of what is right and just seems to be extremely varied and rarely (to modern Western eyes) pleasant.. Dont know if I would rule it out entirely because the demographics are different but it might need a change in the voting dynamics. Well the universe has a law of gravity but it doesnt have a law of should there be reparations. Prof Olusoga says statues, such as those of slave traders . You may concede a point here, a point there. It is a political campaign, not a contribution to academic history. They are pretty much airbrushed from history, whereas the transatlantic slave trade seems to be wall-to-wall on our TV screens and in our school textbooks. That was when the Democrats were still Americans. It was the first of the slave narratives that I'd ever read and I found it astonishing.". How does importing new labour from West Africa solve the food shortage in the West Indies? Ill disparage them. Pretty sure if you could, implausibly, trace my family tree through various not-very-literate eras youd pass through at least one Anglo-Saxon who owned a bunch of Britons. Inflaming the reader has no purpose relative to slavery. Peter Olusoga. The New Statesmans global affairs newsletter, every Monday and Friday. Slavery within West African societies being different again I dont think the places with very high rates of local slavery were anything like the sugar plantations. Olusoga brilliantly reveals such contradictions in British society. But there have been other societies with slavery where slaves had more autonomy and a greater chance of buying their freedom. I still find arguing the toss, or watching others doing so, interesting partly because it shows how the viewpoints are divergent, how many arguments are self-interested, what social, cultural and economic forces are at work behind it all. Its been banned for two centuries in Britain. He presented the recent series of A House Through Time on BBC 2, and Black and British: A Forgotten History. Not good. TV historian David Olusoga claims it is "palpable nonsense" to say that removing controversial statues "somehow impoverishes history". The strongest case I can see against reparations is not fundamentally a legal one but perhaps one degree abstracted the law if we can litigate that, we can litigate a heck of a lot of stuff from centuries past, tie our legal systems up in knots with no obvious limits in sight. Then a young teenager, he was driven out of his council home, together with his grandmother, mother, two sisters and younger brother, by a sustained campaign of nightly stoning of their windows. The evidence of this is that seasoned slaves, those exposed to the environment, sold for up to 50% more than new ones. "We are on a journey in this country and other countries are on similar journeys to try and reconnect to parts of our history that had traditionally been edited out," adds Prof Olusoga. Blacks like Mr Olusoga despite endlessly banging on about it seem to overlook the fact that they are in a minority. Particularly as nowadays anyone who dares even look at someone a few days below the age of consent is believed to be an incorrigible nonce who deserves hanging, castration, or castration by hanging. But Ill tell you what, slavery and human sacrifice, still awful. And so, equipped with the fruits of Islamic learning (new navigational instruments, books on astronomy and trigonometry), European explorers set sail for Africa to relieve the natives of their gold. Hundreds of White women raped every day. Quite possibly slave-raiding Gaels before that. Maybe someone should advise him to button his lip before he stirs up something he may not like. Well whats the point of pretending it doesnt also induce moral disgust in me, just in case someone mistakes it for guilt, or an admission of liability? "They're not looking to history only to make them feel good and give them comfort, but they're looking to history to tell them things about truths about their society that we have traditionally edited out of British history.". They did not pay for them and were going to kill a lot of them anyway. Sure. 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