Am I the only one getting irritated with this slave trade malarkey?

Question

I see some africans are getting 'angry' presumably because their ancestors weren't rescued from the chaos of africa.

When Britain got involved in the slave trade, it was the status quo and it was Britain that realised that it was wrong and legislated to bring it to an end.

Sadly the British government still press ganged British men into the navy and conscripted boys to the hell of the trenches and mines well into the 20th century.

Answer 1

99% of us are p.issed off with this PC garbage! people use the slave trade as an excuse for their own deficiencies, I as a white male I only look to myself for any failings I may have.
( There again I could blame the Romans, The French, The Vikings etc etc etc!!!!!!).

Answer 2

About history - always remember that 'history' is a foreign place. We were not around 200 years ago when attitudes to most things were totally different to our attitudes of today. I have for example, found a drawing made by an employee of the Bank of England in c1800s - on it there is a scaffold with eight people hanging. Obviously this was a frequent occurence here in UK at the time and not something we would like to see today. It happened. Same with slavery, there's nothing we can do.

Some hero Englishmen such as Sir Francis Drake, were very much involved in the slave trade. He sailed out with a ship load of trinkets for the African trade - filled his ship[s] with slaves and headed out for the Americas where same slaves were sold in such as Jamaica. He then took sugar etc from there to the American colonies and so it went - back home to UK with whatever booty he could plunder from the Spanish etc.

In my childhood and youth [1940s and 1950s] people were still being flogged in prison here in UK and hanged. The last workhouse in UK was still fully operation in the late 1940s. The dreadful poor laws of the 19th century were not repealed until c1946. History is a foreign place - I know, I've been there and I'm only 65. Ask anyone, a veteran of WW2 and get their story.

My grandfather fought in both the Boer War and WW-One - he was very much a Victorian. There is no one alive today who is remotely like him - they're all gone, mostly died back in the 1950s or 60s. History is a foreign place.

Answer 3

Thank God someone out there is saying the same as me. I really can't believe that people today are affected by something that happend over 200 years ago. My dads Grandfathers family left Ireland for Usa due to the potato famine. Should I be blameing the English for not not helping the farmers in my family? I don't think so! I can honestly say that this has had no affect on my life whatsoever.

Answer 4

im not racist and im certainly not saying the slave trade was right but it was so many years ago that no-one alive now was a part of it and very few people think it was a good thing. It was a horrific idea that I am so glad is over and am disgusted that people once felt like that and they happen to be my ancestors as I am white.

Its to confusing now to place blame for lots of reasons, how can people apologise for something they didnt do? What are mixed race people supposed to feel do they have to hate one side of their family's ancestors for the terrible things their other ancestors did.

there are plenty of other horrific periods in history where a certain group/race/country did terrible things to another but you just can't apologise for them its not realistic.

Answer 5

That's okay, my family was white and came over as indentured servants. So I think that the government should owe me reparations as well. And the British government too, they placed my family into indentured servitude. So we were no better off than blacks.

Has anyone mentioned that a lot of the black slaves from africa were actually traded to the British by the warring tribes there, in return for weapons, aid and supplies?

Answer 6

I think we should remember and learn from what happened in the past, but not apologise for it.

We cannot be held responsible for what our parents do, let alone ancestors from hundreds of years ago. Plus if we apologise for everything wrong we were involved with throughout the centuries we would spent our whole lives saying sorry.

We need to remember, learn and move on.

Answer 7

I heard on the radio today that someone wanted Tony Blair to apologise for british involvement in the slave trade 200 years ago. Why was he there are the time. What a complete load of rubbish

Answer 8

No, there's me, too. It pathetic the things our government and even the Archbishop of York will do in this PC world (not the computer shop, bytheway!). Slavery still continues in Africa and I don't notice the Archbishop whingeing on about that. We'll be apologising for knocking seven bells out of the Scots next. Oops, a thumbs down for that one.

Answer 9

Are these descendants of slaves to feel more relieved and able to get on with their lives if Tony Blair says "sorry". I don't think it will change anything, so what is it that they are really after?

Answer 10

if all they were really asking for was a public apology, that is one thing, respect is cheap and a public apology is cheaper, untill some lawyer uses that apology as an admission of guilt and sues for billions in some class action nuisance lawsuit. The average person of either race doesnt think or care about it till its rubbed in their faces repeatedly by rabble rousing reverends with questionable morals and financial dealings.

Answer 11

the lords and barrons of this country Uk used there fellow countrymen as slaves ie. the mines the mills all had to work for a pittance 364 days a year using little children up the chimneys life expectancy was 35 so dont come here telling me about slaves they were at it with your white ancestors too