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Peter Mullen

2:32pm Friday 27th January 2012 in Letters

PETER MULLEN (Echo, Jan 24) says that we should not blame ourselves for the slave trade, but instead remember that it was Englishmen who abolished it.

He can’t have it both ways. We are not actually responsible for the misdeeds of our ancestors, but if we are not to feel ashamed of their crimes, we cannot justly feel proud of their achievements.

We need also to remember former slaves like Quobna Ottobah Cugoano and Olaudah Equiano who campaigned fearlessly against slavery, and acknowledge the courage of the slaves themselves, who, led by Paul Bogle, Toussaint L’Overture and others, rebelled against their oppressors.

The efforts of abolitionists like William Wilberforce were vital, but it is unlikely that slavery would have been abolished as quickly if slaves had submitted meekly to their fate.

I suggest that Peter Mullen takes a short stroll from his church in the City to the Museum of London, where he can view a fascinating celebration of the history of London, as well as an informative exhibition about the slave trade, and the part played in its abolition by foreign-born Londoners like Cugoano and Equiano.

Pete Winstanley, Durham.

Comments(8)

Rasselas says...
3:43pm Fri 27 Jan 12

I rather wish I had all day to trawl the internet and find obscure links and references. To suggest Peter Mullen strolls to a museum may be easy to do if he didn't have a job to do.
ther may be a moral here

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Pete Winstanley says...
3:50pm Fri 27 Jan 12

I happened to be in London last week, and, by chance, walked past Peter Mullen’s church en route to the Barbican, which is where the Museum of London is. It looks a fine old church, and I would have called in to say hello to Peter Mullen, but the church was closed for a private function.

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CTRILEY says...
4:47pm Fri 27 Jan 12

Rasselas wrote:
I rather wish I had all day to trawl the internet and find obscure links and references. To suggest Peter Mullen strolls to a museum may be easy to do if he didn't have a job to do. ther may be a moral here
The passing of the 1800 Act of Union abolished the Irish Parliament and merged it with England’s Westminster Parliament. This gave such as Wilberforce the votes they needed to outlaw slavery in 1807.

I acquired this information not from trawling through the internet, but rather from C.Messenger’s 1985 work “Northern Ireland the Troubles”.

Who knows perhaps if more people reading books, visiting museums, etc., there would be far fewer ignorant people in the world, "ther(e) may be a moral here".

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CTRILEY says...
4:51pm Fri 27 Jan 12

Sorry should read "if more people started"

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Pete Winstanley says...
7:57pm Fri 27 Jan 12

Thank you, CT. Interesting, isn't it, that "Rasselas" thinks that references to Cugoano, Equiano, Bogle and L’Overture are "obscure", though he has presumably heard of Wilberforce. Suggests a rather ethno-centric view of history...

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Pete Winstanley says...
12:05am Sat 28 Jan 12

...but I should point out that it was only the transatlantic slave trade that was outlawed in 1807. It was not until 1833 that slavery itself was abolished throughout the British Empire. And, while slavery is illegal in most countries, and contrary to international law, millions of men, women and children are still held as slaves throughout the world.

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CTRILEY says...
9:04am Sat 28 Jan 12

Pete, the thing is that not many people realise that slavery was already illegal in Ireland. In fact there is much debate amongst historians as to whether slavery in Ireland ever existed, as the evidence suggests that what was seen as slavery is better compared to the French law where a penalty of civil degradation was passed by the Chambre Civique which meant a loss of civil rights, cessation of pensions, prohibition to practice in professions or be employed by the civil services.

Since within Irish Law this was reserved for those guilty of murder, it raises interesting questions about St Patrick and his time as a "slave" in Ireland.

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David Lacey says...
3:10pm Sat 28 Jan 12

Loved reading this stuff Pete and CT. Thanks.

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