Slave trade?

Question

Do you think it would do any good for the UK to apologise for its involvement in the Slave Trade 200 or so years ago. Ive never heard so much cobblers in my life. Whilst it was a disgraceful episode in our history perhaps we should ask the Scandinavians to apologise for the rape and pilaging here ,or the Italians for what the Romans did through the length and breadth of the country. How do you feel about it

Answer 1

i agree with you, i think we can all agree it was a appalling thing and that we can all express our sorrow that it happened but i do not see how we can give any meaningful apology to the descendants of the slaves.Those living did not experience it or take part in it in any way. i do not feel it makes sense. and like you i agree where do you draw a line at expressing sorrow.

Answer 2

I've been researching the Slave Trade for the past three years on the Internet. It's much more complicated than people suppose. Go back to the 9th century here in England and you discover that English men and women were taken as slaves in their thousands by the Danes. You'll also find that thousands of Sarecan [Turkish] girls were shipped to England during the Crusades. It really is not as simple as black slaves from Africa.

Answer 3

It is necessary to acknowledge that our nation was instrumental in creating something which caused harm to others. To say that it was indeed a harmful thing to do and to distance our current attitudes from those at the time.

This is the least we can do. An apology is a personal thing, it needs someone to have been harmed by our actions. Perhaps the decendents of those slaves ARE still being harmed by residual ideas connected with slavery? Do you think so?

If so, then yes we should apologise. However, a real apology reflects a desire to change so as not to repeat the behaviour which caused offence. So unless ethnic British people are prepared to see and to treat people of African ethnic origin as equal human beings ....then it would be an apology empty of any real substance.

Answer 4

I dont think that we should have to apologise for the slave trade. It wasnt just us!

Im not trying to say that it wasnt a horrible period of history and we should feel ashamed on it but come on, it was 200 years ago!!

None of the black people campaigning for this apology are being directly affected by it today, just as none of use alive today was responsible for it. Why should we apologise for something that we didnt physically do??

I dont see black people apologising for bringing tobacco to this country. Tobacco has killed far more people and is still affecting us today.

Its a ridiculous idea, we should not have to apologise for it.

Answer 5

I think that countries involved in slavery (ie the US, UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Carribean nations, Mexico, the African nations that procured the slaves and allowed European countries to maintain slave forts on their soil, etc) all should be VERY honest about their involvement in the slave trade.

For example, most African slaves were captured by other Africans. Mind you, in the period we are discussing, the idea of African unity did not exist just European unity did not exist. Tribes saw themselves as separate entities just as nations did. The Benin people were one of the largest suppliers of fresh slaves to European traders, but they did not supply Benins; they captured people from enemy tribes. And the while the British and Americans did ship some slaves, the majority of slave ships were Portuguese, but the Portuguese were carrying the majority of their slaves for other "consumers."

Many nations in Europe, Africa and the New World have blood on their hands, and it is time that they all own up to their roles.

Answer 6

You are 100% right ......... it is cobblers. How far do we go back into history and apologise??. There is no point, well unless you can bring me someone who was a slave 200 years ago and i don't mean the great great great great great grandchild of some one who was a slave i mean someone who was alive and who was a slave 200 years ago. Then I would apologise to them.

Answer 7

Same as you, it is in the past and whilst worth remembering should not be placed in the forefront of life. I wonder how these ex slaves would be doing at present if they were still in Africa? However if this apologise for everything is to be the norm than we need an appology from every country for past attacks and invasions.

Answer 8

I agree with you...to exent. I think that an apology after 200 is too little late and doesnt really hold any meaning.
I do how ever think that it is important to remeber the events, so that we never repeat the same mistakes again.
And even if the events are not are not important to you, I think that people should have the tolerance and understand that it maybe important to others.

Answer 9

I agree with you that the whole concept is ridiculous. Things happen in the context of their own times. One disadvantage of history is the distortion of it by those who relate it with political gain or those who put values of today's society into situations of the past. It is the historian's job to help make people understand the past and why things happened. These days, people are too PC. Things that happened in the past should be left alone. It can't be changed and to apologise for it has no relevance to today's society.

Answer 10

We'd do better to concentrate on getting rid of the slavery that still exists in the world today. All this focus on the past lulls us into thinking the problem has vanished.

Answer 11

I agree with you entirely... this is political correctness gone mad!

We need to apologise to Iraq and the people we have murdered on a lie... more to the point, Bush and Blaire should apologise to them and us and get us out of there and let them find their own level of government, since whenever we leave, today, tomorrow, this year, next... civil unrest will follow in the teething troubles of their own awakening to democracy.

Exactly as it did inside the UK... all democracy starts from within.

As for the slave trade... a terrible indictment on all who took part, it began between tribes and westerners latched on much to our disgrace and shame.

But we did set the ball rolling and were first to recognise our faults in this and stop it.

Now we must concentrate on stopping trade of children and of females for the sex trade, which is rife inside our doors and yet, we do nothing... as they suffer NOW!

I am sorry for the past, and wish it never was, but I am ashamed and heartbroken for today's children and women who suffer in this awful way, while all we do is talk!

To be forgiven, words are not enough... we must also forgive all those whom we feel have wronged us too... and listening to our modern way with words, our need to blame the other person and never accept responsibility for things we do, the list is endless!

Christian who truly forgives and is very sorry, for anything I have done inside my life that I shouldn't have, that may have hurt another, but who also knows, it takes much more than a world stage performance, to truly be contrite... certainly not political agenda, or correctness!