The evidence of this is that seasoned slaves, those exposed to the environment, sold for up to 50% more than new ones. My argument is that Africans were probably happily killing each other for women before the West turned up. But as someone who is damaged by slavery I have lived in racially mixed communities and I am happy to see Obama and Kamala pay up. Watching @worstall execute @richardjmurphy is like watching a very, very clever cat slowly killing at ataxic mouse. Again, not that these market forces absolve the sellers of a moral responsibility, but there is an argument occasionally deployed that slaves would have been slaves anyway. We do not know how great the demand for women was. Video, 00:02:30. The Celtic version of slavery (which ran to quite a different model) was still going on in the places the Romans didnt reach. David Olusoga, 49, is a television presenter and historian. 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?. I learned the hard way. "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.". I know there are posters on here who see stepping into their opponents perspective as a dangerous and pointless endeavour that gives undue worth to a viewpoint they despise, but purely as a mental exercise theres usually something to be said for examining your opponents strongest argument instead of their weakest. Prof David Olusoga has presented numerous documentaries including A House Through Time and Black and Black and British: A Forgotten History, Olaudah Equiano played a role in Britain's abolishment of slavery, Performer Giles Terera has written a play featuring Equiano, Prof Olusoga said when it was published, people did not believe the book was by an African as it was deemed so well written, Bernardine Evaristo (second left) has launched a series called Black Britain: Writing Back which features novels by black British authors that have been overlooked, Should black history be taught all year round? Dr Peter Olusoga is a senior psychology lecturer at Sheffield Hallam university. * the legal institution and pretty much the practice It may have made sense for the SS to starve labourers to death. It's against this backdrop that Black British History Month was created. (I suppose it makes a point about blame not being distributed homogeneously, or that a certain group of people shouldnt be guilted just because they share the same colour of skin with another bunch of people you do think are guilty. ", TV historian rejects 'nonsense' over keeping statues, What Black History Month is - and why it matters. The government has said the "flexibility within the history curriculum means that there is the opportunity for teachers to teach about BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) history across a spectrum of themes and eras" so it did "not believe it was necessary to change the curriculum". Quite possibly slave-raiding Gaels before that. There is no reason to think one system was more or less brutal than the other. . It isnt happening now. Even discussing it gives your opponents arguments merit. But Muslims were enslaving white Europeans into Africa long before the Atlantic route, usually castrating the males. 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. Olusoga patterns his narrative after Fryers, starting with the North African presence in Roman Britain. If black lives really mattered these people would be protesting the 500 shot dead so far by predominantly black men in Chicago this year. Societies have had a long history of treating minorities harshly. He also studied at the University of Liverpool and so benefits from slavery as much as anyone else. Because it isnt about who you are, its about who your ancestors were. The New Statesmans global affairs newsletter, every Monday and Friday. One of the reasons why the American and Caribbean experiences were very different. Then the second. Then the adult men became profitable too. Although the bottom line is that no Black person remembers slavery. 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. If Olusoga is looking for apologies or compensation for slavery, I am quite prepared to meet him, accept his apology, togehr with cash, cheque or even a postal order. 1894 shipwreck confirms tale of treacherous lifeboat. He is a Cultural Marxist trying to destroy the West. Prof Olusoga says statues, such as those of slave traders . . "I first read it as a student and it struck me as something that was very different to other things I was reading about the Atlantic slave trade. "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. He is the undisputed King of the Internet Pedants and Lord of the Unnecessary Snark. Have you ever read the account by Ibn Fadlan of a Viking funeral in Russia? In the USA? People seem pretty much agreed on what is right and what is wrong. It began to alter (slightly) the history curriculum at university level: the first undergraduate one-year course on black British history and culture was taught at the University of Warwick in 1984. Perhaps Im a bit more culturally relativist these days, but just read it again, still absolutely awful. And, of course, being half white, he is only entitled to half the reparation payment. "The phenomena of which he is iconic is one that we have written out, edited out of our nation. Shipwrecked off the coast of Africa, he, and other survivors, were taken by an African tribe as captives. Now Im trying to imagine just what the strongest case for reparations might be, but even in this thought experiment its hard to see what the eligibility criteria for receiving payment should be, what sum should be due, how much proof is required of eligibility not everyone will have a good set of family records etc. They are stupid false for America. it was cheaper, at times, to starve people and then replace them Or they may discover how little black lives do matter. He has discovered new and exciting research materials in African archives, among them the Register of Liberated Africans in Sierra Leone, which list names, bodily details, ethnicity and origins, thus putting a human face on people otherwise treated as fodder and statistics. And the fact youre moved to tears by discovering for the first time a great-great-great-grandmother of yours was a prostitute single-mum with seven kids or a great-x5-uncle you had never heard of was imprisoned for murder, well, your utter lack of knowledge simply reveals how little youve been influenced by them, so youre hardly discovering a new facet of yourself at all. Obama had none. 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. Id say theres enormous dangers in treating this as if it was some public school debating society gig. Read about our approach to external linking. Hundreds of White women raped every day. Now sixteen sounds about okay to me if youre going to stick a limit somewhere, but then being British I suppose Im more likely to think the system Im accustomed to is normal and reasonable. Id say this to Mr Olusoga. 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. A renowned economist has said that $12 trillion should be afforded to black Americans in reparation for slavery to help the close wealth gap.. Jamaicans and Nigerians used to hate each other. Do I feel like I had anything to do it? Once insignificant villages, great cities such as Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow sprang up on the profits of slavery. Nevertheless, we live in a society that generally regards slavery as an absolute and eternal wrong, and a grave one at that, yet which has historically (at least certain people and places, and including the state itself) benefited from imposing slavery on others. I personally dont find that as convincing as the case that slaves themselves deserved compensation, and while there were strong political and practical reasons owners were compensated upon abolition but not their former slaves, it doesnt leave a great moral taste in the mouth that twas so. David Olusoga meets Janice Haber and her family, the descendents of Jewish . at scales that were unusual in the long and varied history of slavery, and levels of brutality that stood out too. He presents a one sided and biased picture of slavery which takes no account of the African participation in it. From Roots. Re putting the argument for paedophilia they actually gave Gide the Nobel prize for literature didnt they? Hes insisting that a household headed by a 21 year old black should have the average wealth of all white households. David Olusoga, introduces his book Black and British, an exploration of the relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa. December 2020. In 1861, the Economist stated that nearly four million people in Britain depended directly and indirectly on the cotton industry; a fifth of the entire population. Sloane witnessed and later became part of a system ruled by terror. Indeed in many cases, whose ancestors didnt even live in France or England at the relevant time. The Westman Islands of Iceland have an interesting history in terms of European slavery a major rebellion of presumably mostly Irish (Westmen) slaves was put down there in the typically brutal Scandinavian manner, hence the name, but in the 1600s the local inhabitants were themselves enslaved by Barbary pirates and taken to Algiers, from where a few were ransomed back and one wrote about the experience. And that still stands even if there really are a bunch of torturing murderers out there too. Ill disparage them. It is a political campaign, not a contribution to academic history. Olusoga has written stand-alone history books as well as those accompanying his television series. His choice of subject and his choice of material make that very clear. Rapidly promoted to sergeant, then second lieutenant, he led white British troops into action and died in 1918, having been mentioned in despatches and recommended for the Military Cross. I am of Ulster Scot heritage, who were originally John Knoxs Cumberland Presbyterians, VERY MUCH against slavery. And this of course neatly addresses MBEs arguments. "Equiano is the most important voice that we have from the British experience of slavery and the slave trade," he said. Why are these characterizations needed? And yet anti-black race riots broke out in 1948 in Liverpool and in 1958 in Nottingham and Londons Notting Hill. Would probably have taken your suggestion as a challenge. I do not see what is different between a plantation in Africa and a plantation in Virginia. And tolerance is not a given. Black history: Should it be part of the wider curriculum? So wherever the wealth came from, it wasnt just slavery (or even mainly), Olusogas an alright presenter but a class A race hustler, Edward Lud August 30, 2020 at 9:12 am 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.. 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. Very little sugar on the mainland. In dealing with the black contribution to the First World War, for example, he cites popular gratitude and admiration for black Britons among them Walter Tull, who fought on the Western Front. Used to be on a long-dead and much missed forum where the topics of debate ranged far wider than they do here (as did the viewpoints I think it would be useful if us right-wing brexity mob didnt chase off the sensible non-right-wing non-brexity types so much). You can pay all the reparation for historical slavery related wrongs, real or imaginary, you want. In the 15th and 16th centuries, thousands of pounds of gold were shipped to Europe. Definitely didnt die out with the Romans. Then, in October, came a breakthrough. David then moved with his mother and three siblings in the north-east of the UK. Some other buyer would have taken them if they werent shipped out, and Western (or Arab) traders were just changing the ownership and location, the sins of the slave-raiders being theirs alone to bear. In the system that made Sloane wealthy, black women sought out herbs, plant species that he carefully identified and categorised, and used them to induce abortions, determined as many were not to bring into the world children who would be born items of property and destined to live short, brutalised lives. I am not so sure about that although it is another argument. Nineteen eighty-four was a transformative year for David Olusoga. It died out with the Romans leaving, and its non-legality repeatedly reaffirmed from the reign of the early Normans onwards.. In fact he is a biased political campaigner working to attack and do as much damage to Britain as he can. Your email address will not be published. He talks about slavery because YOU care. Sugar plantations were bad. By David Dabydeen (Photo By Alamy) Nineteen eighty-four was a transformative year for David Olusoga. This is because forgetting slavery means forgetting its victims. Sign up to receive information regarding NS events, subscription offers & product updates. They did not care much for adult males. No? Hey, we do not even have to go that far. This seems rather unlikely. White communities suffer huge losses from Black crime. Cest de la trs bonne dialectique conomique. The point about slave descendants in Georgia being better off than descendants of slave sellers from West Africa is reasonably strong (though look back in everyones ancestry and youre likely to find, far back enough, a mix of slaves, owners and probably traders too). Those who grew rich on slavery and the slave trade were not neutral and no achievement or act of philanthropy justifies airbrushing their involvement from history.. Olusogas ancestors will have participated in the capture of sale of slaves in Nigeria. In 1986 I came across the book Staying Power by the British journalist Peter Fryer. Ive always agreed that the Africans should pay reparations to the rest of us for dumping all those people they wanted to get rid of on us. His current research focuses on stress, burnout, and wellbeing in sports, with a particular interest in high-performance environments and elite coaching. Exactly, bis. Not many remember anything about segregation either. Not to say it was nice.. 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. The argument isnt whether historical slavery was right or wrong or who should accept responsibility for it. And 16th centuries, thousands of pounds of gold were shipped to Europe it may have made sense the. Do matter the reparation for historical slavery related wrongs, real or imaginary, want. Black history Month is - and why it matters to think one system was or! 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