Hi everyone,

You may or may not be aware that on this day (August the 1st) 172 years ago it became illegal to actually own slaves in the British Empire.

Next year (2007) will mark the 200th anniversary of the bill introduced by politician William Wilberforce which came into force in 1807, making it illegal for any British ship or subject to trade in slaves. A number of organisations here in the UK are planning a host of events to mark the bicentenary.

There has been much discussion about this already in the UK national and specialist (African/Caribbean) press and a debate seems to be raging. Is this a day worth celebrating and if so, what exactly should we celebrate? Do we celebrate politician William Wilberforce or do we celebrate slave rebellions like the one staged by Toussaint l’Ouverture in Haiti in 1791 which sparked off further rebellions in the Caribbean making slavery itself practically untenable? Should there be a call for a UK National Slavery Memorial Day (a Member of Parliament has tabled a motion calling on the government to set up an annual slavery memorial day to be held on the 25th March each year to mark the day in 1807 when the slave trade actually became illegal)?

Should 2007 be a year of forgiveness (earlier on this year, a descendant of England’s first slave trader knelt before a crowd of Africans in Gambia and begged for forgiveness and apologised for the actions of his ancestors)? Or should next year be about highlighting a trade that is argued to be the spark that led to massive industrialisation of the west? And is there a financial case for reparations?

These debates having been going on for some time now and it is likely that next year there will be even more vociferous discussion about it. What’s your view?

This is most a definately a day worth celebrating and remembering.  I think that it would be better to remember the slaves and families themselves rather than the abolitionists.  However I think the erection of a monument in London or even better at the docks in Liverpool would be ideal maybe based on the abolitionists kneeling man ‘Am I not a man and a brother?’ Also there could be a museum or exhibition dedicated to this.

I don’t think that it should ever be formally forgiven - in light of today’s news Tony Blair shall not be making a formal apology and should it therefore be formally forgiven?  He has also said that he will make some acknowledgement for the wrongs and then we can all move on....as far as I can see I think Britain has moved on pretty well already… Should Hitler be forgiven for the second world war?

I think that the Government should show their sympathy to the issue by doing a lot more about contemporary slavery such as bonded labour and human trafficking.  Apparently there are double the amount of slaves today than there was 200 years ago!

The Industrial Revolution is taught in schools all over the country however never do I remember being taught anything about how slavery benefitted Britain and helped to create its whole infra-structure.  I do agree however that slavery should be taught in schools as part of a citizenship project and not just in history lessons.

I will be watching this whole event with interest!

Greetings Fiona and thanks for your response. It certainly does looks like the story of the Atlantic Slave trade and what it all means is now at last beginning to find its way on to the modern political agenda which I feel is a very good thing.

I like your views regarding a national monument commemorating the abolition. This would not only serve as a reminder but would also, I think, help people to know how significant an event the slave trade and its abolition are to British history. If location of a monument were to become an issue then maybe a number of monuments should be considered in all the ports and cities that benefited.

It looks like you are not alone in thinking that there should NOT be a formal apology from the British Prime Minister Tony Blair. A BBC straw poll shows that almost 75% of those questioned don’t think there should be an apology:

(http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6185176.stm?ls&dynamic_vote=ON#vote_6187090)

I would like to propose a similar vote on our (Interaction) website: Should the leaders of European countries which were once actively involved in the Atlantic Slave Trade now issue an apology?

Although Tony Blair stopped short of making an official apology himself, he does speak of his deep sorrow that the trade ever existed. He also describes as profound the impact it had on Africa and the Caribbean; agrees that Britain’s present day economic prosperity owes a lot to the despicable trade and; admits to Britain’s ‘active role’ in the evil enterprise. As detailed in the New Nation (the UK Black newspaper that exclusively carried the PM’s statement) it should also be taken into account that no other European leader has yet publicly stated regret or sorrow about the part that their countries have played in the trade and how they too have benefited.

You make an interesting point about modern day slavery and whether this now should be our primary focus. This very point has been discussed in a number of fora and like you, many have concluded that once Britain’s role in the trade is acknowledged the focus should then be re-directed to eradicating bonded labour, forced recruitment of child soldiers, human trafficking or any of the other examples around the world today where people are enslaved. I do tend to agree with that but am also in agreement with the Nation when they say that we should be wary that the issue of modern day slavery should not be used as a sideline or diversionary issue to take away focus from the more salient point that there is still much work to do unravelling everything to do with the ‘African Holocaust’ - very much in the same way that the murder of 6 million Jews after the 2nd world war is seldom diluted with modern day debates on ethnic cleansing and genocide.

What do other people think?

I have a ‘slightly’ different take on the issue of celebrating the Slave Trade. The Slave Trade has happened and is done with, Thank God. In the countries directly impacted, i.e. Africa and some parts of the Caribbeans, there are extremely serious issues which need to be addressed such as poverty, healthcare, education etc.

My take is that the best way to celebrate the abolition of Slave Trade is to ensure that it does not continue in its current form as is found in the developing world as we like to call the Third World countries now. We should therefore take from the lessons of the past and concentrate on ensuring that the ‘Leaders’ in these countries do not continue to enslave their countrymen. The main lesson I learnt from the InterAction program is the criticality of Leadership in breaking the bonds of enslavement that derives from poverty etc. It took the right Leadership to end slave trade the first time around. I therefore suggest that we look for ways to engage in promoting the right type of leadership in the affected areas that this neo-enslavement can then be eradicated. A campaign of this nature would be a great way to celebrate this 200th Anniversary. This campaign in the true InterAction tradition should take the form of identifying Good Leaders and celebrating them with emphasis on why they are considered good leaders. This, hoepfully should stimulate otheres to aspire to be so celebrated by providing the right leadership in their respective communities.

So you see, my take is yes we celebrate, but in a manner that addresses the eradication of the currently prevailing form of slave trade. Cheers Everyone!

Howdy all!

Slavery ... Perhaps the word ought to be “commemorate” the abolition of its more overt forms, and not so much to “celebrate” an end. And even when commemorations are to be held, it ought to be in the spirit of paying homage to the undying character for a self-asserting soul, as personified by various struggles in their forms on the motherland and in the diaspora, a eulogy to the brutalised and traumatised. Certainly, the practice has undergone a metamorphosis of some sort ... the idiom has changed, but the system remains.

Recently I visited one of Ghana’s most celebrated slave cite in the Central Region of Ghana.  Visiting the dungeons where slaves where kept and listening to the history was for me a historic and memorable day.

Reflecting on it gives me the opportunity to say that there is the need to celebrate the abolition of the slave trade.  the darkeness of the room and the pictures i got of how our great ancestors toild and suffered leaves me no option than to give thanks to God for relieving us from slavery.

May it never occur again in whatever form

Hi Tunde, Mwape and Cynthia. Thank you for your posts regarding this subject and massive apologies for my lack of input this year but I think that the website was down for a while hence the lack of debate around this subject. Anyway, we’re back on-line and the topic of the Transatlantic Slave Trade is stepping up pace here in the UK so I thought I had better engage once again.

As you know, yesterday (Sunday 25th March) was the actual anniversary of the abolition of the act and a number of organisations – including , most notably, the BBC – are playing an active part in (re)educating the public on this ‘crime against humanity’ and the effect that the trade had on the development of the west. Dare say that little will be said about the adverse affect on the African continent but nevertheless, this is a story to be told.

There has been a lot of discussion of late (as alluded to in Tunde’s post) about a ‘need’ to refocus on ‘modern slavery’ as well as, or instead of the trade in African slaves dating back to the late 15th century. I think that it’s interesting that comparisons have been made between the two very different types of slavery. If analysed, you will find that the Transatlantic Slave Trade was slavery like never seen before or since, that is, that this was a trade of captured slaves ‘on an industrial scale, enforced by European law and conducted by royalty, political establishments and major institutions’ with a legacy that is still far reaching in 2007.

Personally, I see these as two separate and distinct issues that should not be confused with one another lest we lose the impact of how much the Atlantic slave trade and its effects impact Africa and Europe today. So you see, for me, yes there is a need for us to know how slavery manifests itself in the modern day world, and how both captured slaves AND enlightened Europeans fought to eradicate this heinous crime. I feel that both Africa and the UK have a lot to learn about themselves and the relationship that they have with each other if they were to really sit down and check the history however repulsive it is. I think it was Marcus Garvey that said ‘a people without knowledge of their history is like a tree without roots’.