In events eerily reminiscent of other turning points in history from South Africa to Eastern Europe, a group of protestors pulled down a statue of Edward Colston, a seventeenth century slaver and city benefactor, and threw him into the harbour.
Captured on social media, the moment was significant in a yet to be fulfilled way, as it illustrated the need to change the trajectory of Britain’s history.
It pointed too, to the need for the teaching of economic and social history rather than political history; explaining the present day implications of the acquisition of empire; where the funding for Britain’s early industrialisation came from and its subsequent social consequences; the more recent role played by the thousands from the then colonies who fought and died for Britain; and how migrants after the second world war played a vital role in Britain’s economic recovery.
The reaction to Colston’s toppling also indicated the absence of any leading government politician with the courage to recognise how a better national perspective on English history and a country at cultural peace with itself might channel honesty about the past into greater global influence.
Without genuinely addressing issues like racial inequality, injustice and its history, Britain is likely to become more volatile, making it difficult for its diplomats to explain its present and future place in the world, let alone the relevance of ‘Global Britain’ or the jingoism that surrounds Brexit.
