[NSC] Slavery Museum

[crodonilson]

One of Sadiq Khans feature plans for London is to build a huge slavery museum, possibly the biggest museum in London, because people must be educated of the countrys colonial past, David Lammy has already thrown his weight right behind the proposals.

Sounds like an excellent idea to me.

Good idea??

 

[AmexRuislip]

Genuinely not a bad idea, if thought through properly.

 

[Beach Hut]

I dread to think what Trump will tweet about this........

 

[BBassic]

Reckon it's a good idea. Definitely played our part in the slave trade way back when.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Brilliant idea. I’m very keen that Germans learn about their national socialist government of the 30’s and 40’s too. We can only progress if we teach the kids about the skeletons in the closet.

 

[highflyer]

Definitely a good idea.
I suspect those people that already have their fingers in their ears singing lalala with regard to our glorious history of slavery and colonialism will simply not go.
But at least there will be an addional opportunity for a new generation to educate themselves properly.

 

[GT49er]

One of Sadiq Khans feature plans for London is to build a huge slavery museum, possibly the biggest museum in London, because people must be educated of the countrys colonial past, David Lammy has already thrown his weight right behind the proposals.

Good idea??

Should be located in West Africa, where the slaves were seized from their homes and villages, rounded up by stronger more aggressive tribes and brought to the coast for sale.

 

[highflyer]

Should be located in West Africa, where the slaves were seized from their homes and villages, rounded up by stronger more aggressive tribes and brought to the coast for sale.

You know there are several slavery museums based along the coast of West Africa right (I have visted two)? Where the role local slavers is indeed discussed.

 

[GOM]

Everyone needs to be educated about our past, good and bad, and compare our, and the worlds standards now to what they were at those different times in our history.
Does it require a museum in a fixed location to do this, or should it be education nationwide ?

 

[Knocky's Nose]

I've mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, learning about history to prevent mistakes in the future is a great idea, but will we ever have physical slavery again on such a mass level? (Although a possibility is 'electronic slavery', which may well end up being a thing in the future.. but that's another subject)

On the other hand will it not just drag up something that's in the distant past, never to return, which still needlessly pisses plenty of people off that it ever happened at all... in a time we had no control over.

You could argue it educates about 'modern slavery' - but isn't everyone aware that's very wrong these days anyway?

Just a few musings. I'm on my lunch break...

 

[HitchinSeagull]

Should be located in West Africa, where the slaves were seized from their homes and villages, rounded up by stronger more aggressive tribes and brought to the coast for sale.

Its a great idea, theres no reason for people in this country not to learn about its part in the slave trade. It does however need to explore all aspects of the trade and not soley be an exercise in handwringing. That would challenge some of the misconceptions and more importantly it needs to concentrate on slavery that continues today.

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[GT49er]

You know there are several slavery museums based along the coast of West Africa right (I have visted two)? Where the role local slavers is indeed discussed.

I didn't know that - but I'm glad to hear it. Our kids get it drummed into them at school all about the wicked British building wealth on the slave trade (with comparatively little detail about the wicked British role in the abolition of the slave trade) - it is only fair to remember that it was not only the British (or the white man in general if you prefer) who were involved in profiting from slavery.
A slavery museum in the UK would be more appropriate in Bristol or Liverpool than in London anyway (if they haven't already got one).

 

[highflyer]

I've mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, learning about history to prevent mistakes in the future is a great idea, but will we ever have physical slavery again on such a mass level? (Although a possibility is 'electronic slavery', which may well end up being a thing in the future.. but that's another subject)

On the other hand will it not just drag up something that's in the distant past, never to return, which still needlessly pisses plenty of people off that it ever happened at all... in a time we had no control over.

You could argue it educates about 'modern slavery' - but isn't everyone aware that's very wrong these days anyway?

Just a few musings. I'm on my lunch break...

Understanding how our present was created seems important to me.

Without slavery and colonialism the world would be a very different place. We would not be as rich and powerful as a nation. Many other countries would be far richer than they are.
The lack of this understanding leads to people (like Trump etc) getting away with defining the world in deeply inaccurate terms, with people in poor countries reponsible for their poverty and those in rich countries somehow superior and worthy of their wealth, instead of the fortunate inheritors of wealth created through oppression. And from there of course comes the kind of politics we have seen before and are seeing again.

So it's not (just) about hand wringing, although perhaps a bit of that might be appropriate. It's about creating a better future based on a true understanding of the past and on historical reponsibilities. Rather than on deliberate lies and propaganda.


Can apply to many other things of course, but slavery seems like a big one

 

[BBassic]

I've mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, learning about history to prevent mistakes in the future is a great idea, but will we ever have physical slavery again on such a mass level? (Although a possibility is 'electronic slavery', which may well end up being a thing in the future.. but that's another subject)

On the other hand will it not just drag up something that's in the distant past, never to return, which still needlessly pisses plenty of people off that it ever happened at all... in a time we had no control over.

You could argue it educates about 'modern slavery' - but isn't everyone aware that's very wrong these days anyway?

Just a few musings. I'm on my lunch break...

The fact we have modern slavery would indicate that no, not everyone is aware that slavery is wrong.

 

[Pantani]

I didn't know that - but I'm glad to hear it. Our kids get it drummed into them at school all about the wicked British building wealth on the slave trade (with comparatively little detail about the wicked British role in the abolition of the slave trade) - it is only fair to remember that it was not only the British (or the white man in general if you prefer) who were involved in profiting from slavery.
A slavery museum in the UK would be more appropriate in Bristol or Liverpool than in London anyway (if they haven't already got one).

Liverpool has one and it is an excellent museum. Well worth a visit.

When I was taught about slavery in school there was plenty on the abolition too and enough acknowledgement of the West African tribe's complicity in the trade. Think you are being a bit over defensive here

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I didn't know that - but I'm glad to hear it. Our kids get it drummed into them at school all about the wicked British building wealth on the slave trade (with comparatively little detail about the wicked British role in the abolition of the slave trade) - it is only fair to remember that it was not only the British (or the white man in general if you prefer) who were involved in profiting from slavery.
A slavery museum in the UK would be more appropriate in Bristol or Liverpool than in London anyway (if they haven't already got one).

Maybe it has changed but when I did GCE history I learned a lot about William Wilberforce and other social reformers.

 

[highflyer]

I didn't know that - but I'm glad to hear it. Our kids get it drummed into them at school all about the wicked British building wealth on the slave trade (with comparatively little detail about the wicked British role in the abolition of the slave trade) - it is only fair to remember that it was not only the British (or the white man in general if you prefer) who were involved in profiting from slavery.
A slavery museum in the UK would be more appropriate in Bristol or Liverpool than in London anyway (if they haven't already got one).

I don't have the figures, but i'd suspect that 99% + of the profits of slavery ended up in UK/US rather than Africa.
And i'd further suspect that, while Liverpool/Bristol were the hubs of activity, a good % of those profits came back to London.

An interesting little side fact. When we made the trade illegal (against strong lobbying from the city) we did agree to pay compensation. Not to the slaves of course, but to slave owners. And we only finished paying that debt off in 2015. And we still do not (yet) know which financial institution was profiting from those payments...

History is a f*cked up place.

 

[timbha]

Maybe it has changed but when I did GCE history I learned a lot about William Wilberforce and other social reformers.

That’s would be like us learning about the Stone Age for the kids of today !!

 

[GT49er]

Maybe it has changed but when I did GCE history I learned a lot about William Wilberforce and other social reformers.

No doubt it has changed. When I did GCE History Wilberforce hadn't even been invented - not as part of the GCE syllabus anyway! As my daughters went through school (several years apart) the emphasis on slavery (along with the holocaust) increasingly dominated their history courses. In fact, by the time the youngest went through the system, you could almost be forgiven thinking that 'history' was actually 'slavery and the holocaust'.

 

[studio150]

There is already a gallery at the Museum of London Docklands which covers London, Sugar & Slavery.

I assume the proposal is to expand on this.