Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre
Nelsons Column, another monument supposedly lined up for termination by black skynet. Clearly depicts black sailors in the battle, fighting for Britain.
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And there are reasons for that. Whatever else Nelson achieved, he was pro the status quo of the slave trade:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/...rce-dark-side/
Quote:
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Guided by racist assumptions about the violent character of black people, Taylor presented Nelson with lurid warnings of how white slaveholders could be “butchered, massacred, and murdered” by slave uprisings inspired by misguided reformers acting “under the pretence of humanity”. Reflecting those prejudiced fantasies back to Taylor in his letter from the Victory, Nelson contemplated that the success of Wilberforce and his allies “would certainly cause the murder of all our friends and fellow-subjects in the colonies”.
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Now the context of that is that within his strata of society, that was the prevalent view. However it shouldn't now stop us from re-evaluating how we celebrate historical figures with additional knowledge.
Should all monuments to those who held views we don't now agree with be taken down? No. Should we have reasoned and rational debate about them? Yes.