“Should we rewrite history by tearing down the statues of the former slave traders

all around Scotland and around the UK”

The Statue of Liberty is probably the most significant landmark of the United States
and it is a symbol of the values that the United States believe in, liberty and
freedom. It was erected in 1886 and still stands as one of the most recognised
statues in the world, more than a century later. Statues are creations which depict
and represent figures, and have been present over millenniums. Statues have
been commonly used to represent religious beliefs, with the Egyptians using them
as a form of representation of their gods as well as other religions such as
Christianity using statues to symbolise religious figures as a means to honour and
celebrate a person, statues were also created in their likeness and erected in
public. In London alone, there are over 300 statues which each represent either a
historical moment or an important individual. The United Kingdom, with its rich
history, has many statues which represent those moments in history and the
people. Surrounding the statues is the idea that these figures were great and
should be honoured, however, the statues also have a darker aura as they are
inundated with the ignorance of the racist and discriminatory past of the United
Kingdom.

With the conspicuous emergence of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement it is greatly
important to solve the brutal issues of racism contemporarily by understanding
history itself. A tragic misstep in the growth of humanity birthed the notorious slave
trade and the countless cases of racism highlighted by the BLM movement shows
it’s perpetual repercussions. Currently, statued high in the heart of Scotland’s
Capital, is the monument of Henry Dundas with little truth behind the plaque that
accompanies it. Solving our present problems of racism is not a matter of “rewriting
history” but instead unveiling the truthful cruelties of the country’s past that
undoubtedly influence us today as we face the harsh consequences.

For most of today it is a hard pill to swallow that economically, Scotland and the UK
itself was built upon the slave trade however the importance lies within our
understanding of this and to not allow any sort of moderation and ignorance. The
controversy of the Henry Dundas statue is an example of this moderation and
monumenting this character of history is a crime to all those effected by his
history.The monument in Edinburgh has been the focal point of various debates for
the plaque to have been rewritten, explaining the role Henry Dundas had in the
British slave trade. Nevertheless, due to the rise of many political issues such as
the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, it has been proclaimed that the statue should
be taken down completely. In the 18th Century when William Wilberforce came
forth the bill for abolition it was Henry Dundas who denied immediate action and
instead prolonged slavery for another 15 years. These 15 years were responsible
for 630,000 more slaves and consequently generations of more people affected by
this atrocity. Although the renowned politician’s leadership and pragmatism did give
him his place in the heart of Scotland, it is the censored information of his
inhumane act that makes his monument preposterous. As for the solution to this

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wrongful monument, it can be argued that tearing down the statue is the most
tangible one due the removal of any inadvertent glorification towards Scotland and
the UK’s prosperous economic gains from the slave trade.

However it is easy to argue that Henry Dundas’s role in the prolonged abolition of
slavery was insignificant and small as one person alone did not have the power to
change the beliefs which the Parliament had now had. The descendants of Dundas
claim that his decision to gradually abolish slavery was justifiable during the time
and that he was ‘in fact in favour to abolish slavery’. The supposed ‘false
accusations’ made by the general public and human activities such as Sir Geoff
Palmer argue that Dundas’ actions regardless of whether or not it could’ve been
reasonable are inhumane and have had devastating consequences to this day.
On the other hand some people, including the descendants of Henry Dundas, claim
that his statue is also in no way related to Racism and inhumane acts due to the
fact that “Previous decisions shouldn’t be judged by modern day values or
standards” as quoted by the family of Henry Dundas. This notion on history is
utterly infuriating in my opinion due to many political movements campaigning
towards abolition as well as the timeless inhumanity seen with the slave trade.
These monuments and statues of controversial figures portray the wrongful actions
that should not be celebrated or applauded. British historian and filmmaker, David
Olusoga claims that statues were about ‘adoration’ rather than a means to educate
or to help further the understanding of history to people. Monuments and statues
which stand tall and proud, towering over citizens should not be placed on the
streets and rather in museums, where civilians can access further information on
such figures of high status.

In conclusion, in order to substantially tackle the modern issues of racism in

relation to the Black Lives Matter movement (Especially in Scotland and the UK),
measures should be taken to educate people on the truth of the Country’s history
instead of cowardly hiding behind a mask of lies and ignorantly letting the
repercussions of it take place all around the world.

Sources:

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/inews.co.uk/news/uk/statues-uk-history-edward-colston-
slave-traders-pulled-down-removed-protests-443543/amp
https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/edward-colston-who-statue-bristol-slave-trader-pulled-down-
black-lives-matter-protest-440418?
_gl=1*149nu1d*_ga*UlhlVlBWSDNYWFZEQmhmTlM4aXFhRE9UM1AyRFZyV0tURWxHSEta
Ukg2NFY5VUIzUXhNak5ZZUpJQklpWEhMVw..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000nrpb/scotland-slavery-and-statues
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18502945.graffiti-sprayed-henry-dundas-statue-
edinburgh-black-lives-matter-protest/
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/london-statues-and-monuments/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue

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