The Whitewashing of British History
I don't intend to take space away from the Black Lives Matter movement during this time but I do think that I have the knowledge to speak on the debate regarding the removal of controversial statues around the UK. During my three years at Leeds, I have studied the German response to their Nazi past in-depth, how they came to terms with the past and debates surrounding their 'memorials of shame'. The memorials highlighting the crimes of the Nazi regime are integral to Berlin and serve as a public reminder about the dangers of nationalism. But Germany is an anomaly, other European nations do not tend to build memorials to the victims of their government, rather memorials are built to romanticise the past and demonstrate greatness. This is something that has interested me for years and I been planning to write my Masters dissertation on the topic of memory, politics and British history for months. I don't want to diminish the crimes of the Nazis and other authoritarian regimes, but I do think it's important to acknowledge that British history has been severely whitewashed and the majority of Britons tend to be oblivious to this.
Those advocating for the removal of these statues are accused of attempting to erase history, but my social media timelines are constantly flooded with false information, demonstrating that the statues haven't really taught anyone anything about our past. I'm not advocating for this history to be erased, as many right-wing journalists claim, but I don't think these statues should be in public spaces. I understand that some of the statues up for debate won't be removed. Churchill, for example, is regarded as a national hero, but why do we need statues of lesser-known men? What do the statues of slave traders and brutal colonisers represent? Is it really a history that we should be so proud of that we want to dedicate public spaces to these men? Personally, we should give these spaces to the men and women who have improved Britain, or these spaces should be dedicated to those who died to make Britain great. Britain has made historical contributions to science, music, literature, and social equality and this should be celebrated. So why not build statues dedicated to Alan Turing, Marie Stopes, Charlotte Cooper, Mary Seacole, and Olaudah Equiano. There are countless others who deserve more public recognition than they currently receive, and we should dedicate more spaces to these people. Coulsen's statue should be in a museum, so we can acknowledge our past while also demonstrating that those values are no longer appropriate in the Britain we live in today.
In school, history revolved around World War II, particularly the war in Europe rather than the battles fought by ethnic minorities. I think we focus so much on the Second World War because it is an event that can be seen in somewhat black and white terms, and we were unquestionably one of the good guys. Public attention has been focussed on the war due to the seventy-fifth anniversary of VE day last month. The men and women who fought deserve praise, and we should be proud of them, but I think we have an unhealthy obsession with the war as every single issue Britain face relates back to WWII. During talks about COVID, the Prime Minister and Health Secretary tend to liken the virus to an enemy we are at war with, terms such as 'retreat' and 'liberate' are strongly linked to war, even though a virus is a silent killer sweeping across the globe.
But World War II only accounts for six years of our history. British history dates back to the eighteenth century, and the history of the individual nations dates back millennia. Our retelling of history is romanticised; we have a very violent and bloody past and this is largely ignored in the curriculum and wider debates. I have only really studied the empire at university, on optional modules, and what I learned was astounding. While we did learn some facts at school, such as how we ruled one-third of the world, we never discussed the long term implications of the Empire. Sixty per cent of Britons are proud of the Empire and fifty per cent believe we improved the lives of those living in the colonies but this isn't exactly true. The Empire still impacts the world, those arguing for a more inclusive society are told to 'go home' despite the fact that they were born here and their ancestors were invited here as British citizens - in fact, hundreds of Africans lived in England during the Tudor era, so where should their ancestors move to? They're just as 'British' as the 'typical' Brit is. Many former colonies are still playing catch up after decades/centuries of destruction, and a number of Middle Eastern conflicts have roots from the British Empire.
Due to the current events, it's important that we discuss our own history and its implications. Racism dates back to colonialism and the justification for expansion, other races were seen as inferior people who needed to be civilised. The rise of eugenics (interestingly Hitler was not the first white man to believe int he superiority of races) became popular in the UK in the late nineteenth century before influencing circles in the rest of the world. Unfortunately, some of these ideas outlived the British Empire, as minorities are still treated as inferior to white people in general. Many of these communities are underfunded and overpoliced, leading to higher rates of recorded crime and further demonisation in the media. Black men are eight times more likely to be charged with a crime than a white man committing the same offence. Ethnic minorities are twice as likely to be unemployed, regardless of their qualifications, and those in employment earn roughly twenty per cent less than white employees; it is well documented that ethnic minorities have to gain more experience than their white counterparts to secure the same position.
"One may dislike Hilter's system and yet admire his patriotic achievement. If our country were defeated, I hope we should find a champion as admirable to restore our courage and lead us back to our place among the nations" - From Churchill's Great Contemporaries, 1937
"I propose that 100,000 degenerate Britons should be forcibly sterilised and others put in labour camps to halt the decline of the British race." - 1910 Departmental Paper
One of the most striking examples I can think of is the glorification of Churchill. While he was a great speaker and did maintain British morale during the war, he is not solely responsible for the Allied victory. Largely speaking, the Soviets won World War II and fought roughly eighty per cent of the German Army, would the Western Allies have been as successful if those troops were focussed on fighting us instead? In hindsight, Churchill was right about the threat of the Nazis, but it's important to remember that he was generally an outsider in politics in the 1930s because he was a warmonger. He has also been responsible for some serious atrocities throughout his career. In Afghanistan, he was proud of the systematic destruction of villages because the Pashtuns needed to recognise the superiority of race. In India, he contributed to the starvation of four million Bengali men, women and children, despite a good harvest, and blamed the people because they bred 'like rabbits'. He described the Black and Tans, who terrorised civilians in Ireland, as 'gallant and honourable officers' and he advocated the use of air force to suppress Sinn Fein in 1920. He described his time in South Africa, a period of British-run concentration camps in the Boar War, as 'great fun'. Is it surprising that Leo Armery, a right-wing imperialist, stated that there were few differences between the outlooks of Hitler and Churchill? But, despite his numerous crimes and controversial views expressed by Churchill, he is still regarded as the Greatest Briton.
Churchill is not the only figure who has been whitewashed. There were hundreds of Africans living in England during the Tudor era, more than two million Indians died in World War II (compared to the 500,000 British deaths), and Oliver Cromwell, the tenth greatest Briton, was responsible for massacres in Ireland likened to ethnic cleansing. Our role in Ireland was devastating, and Irish history has long been overlooked, I have only ever had one seminar on The Troubles, and actually learned more from my Irish flatmate in Copenhagen than I ever did in formal education. The whole debate surrounding the removal of Edward Coulson's statue in Bristol has highlighted the extent of whitewashing history. While he may have been a philanthropist, Coulsen was responsible for 20,000 deaths, and those lives outweigh all of the charitable donations he made. Great Britain was built on the profits of the slave trade and slave labour, and these profits ensured that Britain pioneered the industrial revolution. The whole of Europe needs to go through a process of coming to terms with their pasts, particularly the aspects of it which they may not be proud of. Belgium responded to the fall of the Coulsen statue with the removal of a King Leopold II statue in Antwerp, who was responsible for the mutilation, forced labour and a dramatic decrease in the size of the population.
We need to acknowledge that our past is brutal and that we shouldn't feel proud of it all. British identities are built on our imperial legacy but historical amnesia is dangerous and can lead to nationalism. We transported twelve million Africans in the transatlantic slave trade for three hundred years before abolition, and compensated the slave masters for their loss of property rather than give financial aid to the newly freed men and women. I spoke to a few people on Instagram and there was a general consensus they needed to research the past themselves in order to understand the true nature of British history. Is it not the role of schools to educate us on our past? We criticise many foreign nations for indoctrinating their people into believing a certain narrative, but I've become increasingly aware that we have a similar process in place. Rewriting history helps no-one and we need to change this. Black history is British history, so unless we understand that Britain was built on the exploitation of others, I don't think racism will come to an end.
I'd recommend listening to Akala's interview with James O'Brien to understand the romanticisation of British history further, he's so knowledgeable and cleverly links class and race together.
