“Statues are not about history; statues are about a certain version of history.” [1]
Figure 1: Edward Colston falling into Bristol Harbour
Statues and monuments fill our towns, cities and homes. They have been the focal point of celebration as well as inspiration.
Take the Statue of Liberty for example, in 2019 it attracted 4.24 million visitors alone! [2]
Additionally, Christ the Redeemer totals an average of 2 million visitors every year.
Both monuments have the ability to do so as they have been branded as top sightseeing landmarks in their respective countries. Additionally, they have religious connotations which further increases popularity.
Figure 2: The Statue of Liberty
Why are statues in Britain being removed from public spaces?
Many statues are of men from Britain in the 16th Century who committed colonial crimes but are celebrated in the eyes of British history for the positive impacts they made.
The British Empire was the product of British national institutions which gives some explanation as to why these statues still stand as these institutions which fight for the statues to remain standing are “an integral part of British social, political, and cultural history.” [3]
However, these statues aren’t just seen in Britain. Leopold II, a man who committed genocide has statues in Belgium and there are confederate statues of soldiers in America. This version of a reinforced, everyday reminder of racism and oppression still exists in our society and is seen globally.
Case Study 1: Edward Colston
One of statues to fall is of Edward Colston was a member of Parliament from 1708-1713. Figure 1 [4], has been seen by thousands of people but, why was Edward Colston’s statue removed?
Figure 3: Channel 4 News report [16]
Colston was a member of the Royal African Company, which meant he was involved in transporting 80,000 people from Africa to the Americas, with 20,000 dying en-route. In Bristol, Colston's town his memory has been celebrated due to him leaving and spreading his wealth between charities [5].
The wealth he earnt from his participation in the slave trade and the death and torture of thousands. His statue being placed in Bristol for so long and masking these crimes he committed gives the indication that Britain are proud of its history surrounding the colonial period and involvement in slavery and don’t care for the majority of Britain's black community who's ancestors were victims.
Artist Marc Quinn sculpted and replaced his statue with one of Jen Ried, A Black Lives Matter activist (figure 3).
The statue has been labelled ‘Surge of Power’ and Jen Ried has since become a main figure of the Black Lives Matter.
In a statement from Jen Ried and Marc Quinn afterwards, it was stated by Quinn that:
“We want to keep highlighting the unacceptable problem of institutionalised and systemic racism that everyone has a duty to face up to” [6].
Figure 4: ‘Surge of Power’
Case Study 2: Thomas ‘Tyrant of Trinidad’ Pictone
Thomas Picton is known as the highest-ranking British officer who died at the Battle of Waterloo and lesser-known as the ‘Tyrant of Trinidad’. He ordered the torture of slaves, particularly a 14-year-old girl, Louisa Calderon [10]. The method he used to torturer this child was branded ‘Pictioning’ by a prosecutor in another case.
British Nostalgic Imperialism
Following on from this, A poll undertaken by Yougov in 2019 revealed that 32% of British people think the former empire is something to be proud of [7]. It can be said this is probably due to the lack of understanding of colonialism. It may also be due to the separation of ‘home’ and ‘away’ during the empire as Parthra Chatterjee recognises [8]. The British public were shielded from the violence seen every day during the empire as it was mainly overseas [9].
Figure 5: Work by Rachel Shi
Government Involvement
on June 9th 2020, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London introduced a commission that ensures capitals landmarks suitably reflect the diverse population of London [11]. Although just two days after, a petition presented to Parliament to ‘Remove statues of all racist figures from public platforms’ was rejected with the reasoning that it's a matter for local authorities to solve.
A petition of this nature being accepted by Parliament would mean that all areas of Britain have to take immediate action, rather than activists waiting for individual authorities to decide to remove them.
More recently, The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick is pushing to pass legislation to require planning permission to remove heritage statues and would give the minister power to block the removal [12].
The minister stated in the debate that he's “protecting our nation's heritage” and that the removal of Colston’s statue was “an act of criminal damage.” [13]
Is it not more criminal to praise oppressors centuries after their deaths? Is it not more damaging to continue celebrating men and disguising their crimes? Should our nation's heritage be protected even though racist acts stemming from it still exist in our society now?
Conclusion
Overall, slave traders having statues throughout the nation gives the incentive that Britain is proud of its history and the violence committed at this time period.
Edward Colston and Thomas Picton are just two of the statues that are dark, deep-rooted reminders of the oppression that still exists linking back to the colonial era.
Eric Hobsbawm, a historian, has described the late Victorian era movement of placing statues as an “invention of tradition”[14], we now think it is time to revaluate these ‘traditions and we can only hope in the future that more statues of such nature are removed from our public spaces and replaced with more deserving and respected figures of our past and present, like Jen Ried or Paul Stephenson, a black worker who in 1963 led the Bristol Bus Boycott [15].
References
[4] Ben Birchall/Press Association, via Associated Press
[8]https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/40006668.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A5439b5a69a6645bbbf9987040f01b76b
[9]https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/40006668.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A5439b5a69a6645bbbf9987040f01b76b
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