British Slave Ownership costs the tax payer £1.6 bil

First time thread. Couldn't find it anywhere on ATS.

Read this article (struggling to link) and found it very interesting.

It talks about how much of British slave ownership's history has been buries from public knowledge.

It mentions compensation for slave owners back in 1834 totalling 40% of the government's expenditure for that year, equivilant to over £1.6 billion in today's money.

Compensation to over 46,000 slave owners was the biggest bailout in British history until the bailout of the banks in 2009.

This was a part of history many were unaware of and would have caused much uproar (back then) if they knew 40% of tax payers money was spent towards the freedom of black people.

One thing I find amusing is once they were "free" they had to work 45 hours a week unpaid labour to their former masters for 4 yrs....very steady progress I say.

Many good talking points in this article and I hope members with greater knowledge on the subject can contribute.

Thanks


www.theguardian.com...

originally posted by: rossacus
This was a part of history many were unaware of and would have caused much uproar (back then) if they knew 40% of tax payers money was spent towards the freedom of black people.

The fact that compensation was being paid was not a secret, and I doubt that the total was a secret.

P.S. I've just checked in the Cambridge Modern History. The compensation was part of the discussion in Parliament when the Bill was going through.
Original plan for "a loan of 15 millions to the planters", but in committee "the hostility of the planters was disarmed by substituting a gift of 20 millions". All very much in the public eye.

a reply to: DISRAELI
Not a secret, just the true extent was not made public knowledge. I would like to have thought the biggest bailout in British history pre 2009 would have been taught during black history months and slavery related history lessons when I was young.

a reply to: rossacus
I've just updated my first reply.
I think you will find that the amount of the compensation was laid down in the Act.

a reply to: DISRAELI
Nice find. Cheers

a reply to: rossacus

Not a secret, just the true extent was not made public knowledge.

It was 1834, for crying out loud. They didn't have Sky News. It was in Parliament, the most public forum in the United Kingdom, and in the newspapers of the era. What more do you want? Should the government have come and told your great-great-great grandparents about it personally?

a reply to: rossacus
In fact we ought not to take away from the fact that this is an important story, worth bringing up.
The only mistake was to suggest "buried from public knowledge", where the truth is that the story was well-known at the time, but since then got buried in public memory.

I give you another flag as penance for carping.

S&F I was aware that they down played slavery over here.

I was quite shocked to see George Orwell had relatives that kept slaves. Given that he had not a large amount of money , he did after creating his books . One in particular he describes his poverty in own and out in Pairs and London.

It didn't come as a shock that David Camerons family had ties in the slave trade.

Awesome read though!

Whole cities were built on profit from slavers. Liverpool being 1 of them. If we can trace all the people who profited from it and built a fortune on the strength of slave profit should have that taken away with all the privelages they have sinced earned. Its ok to say that was their ancestors but it was also the ancestors who left the legacy. They should pay it all back. We know how much they made. Calculate in todays value and give them a payment plan or jail.

a reply to: Astyanax
That's what I was after....

a reply to: chewi

yeh i agree somewhat with you on this, but what if some of the benefactors had spent all the money?

It is quite disturbing they received compensation , the people who were enslaved in my eyes should be the ones who got compo.

things change over time so maybe billing them people would be unfair as it is distant relatives of theirs that behaved so .

a reply to: dingdongdoodah

If the fortunes these people sit on is based on slavery then they should recompense. No matter who perpetrated the crime. Do you believe they are sorry for the crime of slavery or they do feel some sort of guilt. Would hitlers offspring be allowed to keep his fathers fortune and all his henchmmens offspring

a reply to: dingdongdoodah
The thing I find most disturbing is they had to work for free for 4 years afterwards....like the slavery continues, just the "owners" don't need to feed/shelter them. Seems more beneficial for the owners in the short term, although it was the start of a movement.

a reply to: chewi
It's a nice idea but we can't punish the offspring directly, nor can we the businesses still running today as it was the norm back then, legally binding. Hitler type comparisons are different.

a reply to: chewi

yeh i get that if they are sat on it, not everyone is that horrid . that article said Ben afelck was embarrassed . im sure lots of other people whom have relative that behaved like that are also ashamed .

i wasn't saying they should not should not just what if there are people who don't have the thousands of pounds.

a reply to: rossacus
yes i was disgusted to see they had to work 4 years after been freed. i bet alot of them died before they got freed due to abuse etc.

Not only did the British compensate British slave owners, they also incurred vast costs pushing an anti-slavery agenda to disrupt the trade in slaves, much to the annoyance of those nations still supporting slavery, including America.

HMS Black Joke is an example of the interesting naming conventions of Royal Navy ships, but also their role in fighting the abhorrent slave trade.

HMS Black Joke from Wiki

a reply to: paraphi

Thanks for the link. History is alway better when a little humour is present.