Why should Tony Blair apologise for the UK's part in the slave trade?

Question

It will make no difference, the people who it's aimed at will still have a big chip on their shoulder.

Answer 1

Can you still get slaves in the UK?
I could do with a few.

Answer 2

Well, I don't think he should. After all, it was a long time ago and how far back do you want to go? Is the Italian PM going to apologise for the Roman slave trade?

Ok - That was flippant - but I think it is more important that children are taught the full history of the slave trade so that they can see how wrong it was and make sure it does not happen again. The best way to apologise for the past is to protect the future.

Answer 3

Tony Blair really doesn't and this is how I was taught. In Africa there was a tribe called the Houston's(sp?) whose tribe grew so big they could no longer support it. Leaders of that tribe started selling off some of the young men to lessen the population, then the women, so the first "slave trader" were black tribal leaders. It became so widespread England needed to stop the trading because the "slave trader" was becoming rich from it and started to go into other tribes. Thus the battle started between Africa and England. England never really had a solid control on Africa and most of the "slavers" were selling to whites by now and in turn they were exporting slaves faster than England could stop.

Answer 4

Tony Blaire should not apologise at all, in fact, the United Kingdom was the first Western power, the very first global power to abolish the slave trade, and one of my ancestors lies buried on Zanzibar, where the UK then took on the Arabs and Portuguese trying to stop the slave trade.

Slavery still happens in Africa, and the guilty are the traders, who are mainly African, selling their own people to Arab dealers. If anything, why not get the Saudis to apologise for turning a blind eye to modern slavery, or Japan to apologise for ignoring the Geneva convention in WW2 and turning the POW's into slaves. Why not get George W Bush to apologise for his ancestors fighting a war to keep slavery, and let Tony apologise for his many mistakes, not our distant ancestors over which he had no control.

Answer 5

Tony Blair cannot apologise sincerely since he is representing those UK citizens alive now and has no mandate to speak for anyone else. Since to apologise sincerely implies admission of guilt and no UK citizen alive today is responsible for the slave trade, no apology can be sincere.

We can honestly regret that the slave trade happened and that Tony Blair, on our behalf, has done.

Answer 6

Check your history: Queen Elizabeth I, the Royal navy at that time intercepted as many slave ships as possible, once freed many stayed few went home.We were not all saints, especially some of the Caribbean plantation owners, who in a vast majority appear to have become Americans in it early years, surprise, surprise.
More recently WWII black GI's were 'stunned' at how they were accepted by the general populous of Britain.

Or have these so called we must grovel for our ancestors brigade forgotten Rosa Park, or that great campaigner Martin Luther King, a truly great peaceful man, both America

What about America, Australia, and any other tribe/nation that has in its past taken slaves, and DO still treat some of their native, former slaves as? well?, you only have to remember the recent Atlanta hurricane, we in Britain didn't see too much of the actual footage of attempted rescues, the Bush Blair Corporation and American Television ATV sorry should be Independent as in ITV, sorry showing my age there the old ATV stations, didn't show very much.

So, Blair SHOULD NOT apologise, if America and Australia do not for the slave trade and continued mistreatment of their native populations. As for those with a chip on their pompous shoulders, sod off to America or Australia, even Spain, but preferably the former, because here YOU don't run the risk of the KKK, who seem to have hooks in all forms of any thing American.

Answer 7

Because he represents the nation, and even though nobody alive now had anything to do with the slave trade, it's appropriate to apologise on behalf of the nation's past errors / crimes.

I think the question should be "why not apologise?". I mean what is there to lose by admitting that our country was involved in crimes against humanity (because let's face it that's was slaving was), in the past, and apologising for it.

Personally I think the debate in number 10 is about how frightened the government are that if we apologise we lay ourselves open to claims for compensation from ex-slaves' descendants.

Answer 8

Why is he apologising? Was he responsible? Well he can bloody well apologise to English for putting children up chimneys,and deporting people to Australia for stealing a loaf of bread. I can go on with this but won't. What an As*hole he and the wicked witch he married are..and what about the work house the poor were put in, because the rich didn't like to look at them in the street.
WE deserve to be apologised to BLAIR

Answer 9

He shouldn't apologise! There isn't a slave trade now! We don't still have slaves, he could apologise for racism that is current but what is the point for apologising for something that happened so many years ago!

that is ridiculous!

Answer 10

I would rather Bliar apologise for what he has done to the country, being corrupt (cash for honours), being a poodle and fighting illegal wars in our name.

I don't know much about the slave trade and didn't know we were the first to abolish it. I had a useless history teacher about school who was obessesd with the WW2 so from year 7 til 11 that is all I did for history!