Difference between revisions of "Statue of Edward Colston (Bristol)"

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Latest revision as of 08:24, 15 March 2021

The Statue of Edward Colston

The Statue of Edward Colston is a bronze statue as a memorial of one of the most virtuous and wise sons of Bristol, Edward Colston (1636–1721). The  Statue was erected in 1985, by the Irish sculptor John Cassidy. Edward Colston statue was standing on Colston Avenue, south of the central sidewalk in Bristol, England. The statue shows Colston in middle age, wearing a C17 costume and leaning pensively over a cane.[1]

The Statue of Edward Colston has been torn down during anti-racism protests across Bristol into Bristol’s Harbor. Thousands of people demonstrated in cities across the UK, sparked by the death of black man George Floyd in the US.[2] News After being pulled out of Bristol’s Harbor, the statue was quietly removed by Bristol City Council, which said it would now be preserved and placed in a museum.[3]

Background

Edward Colston was born on November 2, 1636, he grew up in Bristol but moved to London and never lived in Bristol as an adult. In 1680 he joined the Royal African Company (RAC), which monopolized the gold, silver, ivory, and slave trade on the west coast of Africa from 1662. The company branded slaves (including women and children) with the initials RAC on their chests. It is believed to have sold about 100,000 West Africans in the Caribbean and America between 1672 and 1689 and it was through this company that Colston made most of his fortune, using the profits to move to lend money.[4]

It is estimated that during Colston's involvement with the RAC, he transported some 84,000 African men, women, and children. Around 19,300 of them died on their way to the Caribbean and across America due to unhygienic conditions on board. Designed to maximize profits and accommodate as many enslaved people as possible, the ships became hotbeds for dysentery, dehydration, and scurvy. Survivors of the perilous journey are sold to growers for cheap labor on tobacco and sugar plantations.[5]

Colston then began to build a reputation as a philanthropist who contributed to charities such as schools and hospitals in Bristol and London, despite donations of wealth resulting from human suffering. His philanthropy means the name Colston is pervasive in Bristol. In addition to the statue, there is Colston's, an independent school, named after him, along with a concert hall, Tower, Street, and Avenue.[4]

Controversy

The A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020
The Statue of Edward Colston Pulled Down on Bristol’s Harbor

Mike Gardner, a retired journalist, describes in his article Colston as "one of the most evil men in British history." Bristol has more than a dozen streets, schools, other buildings named Colston, but Gardner said the statue is the worst reminder of all. He argued “Time to stop the little girl from wearing flowers to celebrate her birthday. And it's time to take the statue down.[6]

Eddie Briggs wrote: "Bristol still perversely celebrate the slaver Colston every year! It's time for a victims' plaque on his statue! Not flowers." And former Bristol mayor George Ferguson has admitted he thinks Bristol's celebrations of slave trader Edward Colston does seem peverse.[7]

A Bristol lawmaker has called for the removal of the statue in honor of slave trader Edward Colston. Thangam Debbonaire, Labor MP for Bristol West, said the city "should have no respect for the people who benefit from slavery".[8]

Black Empowerment

Black Lives Matter protesters removed the controversial statue of slave trader Edward Colston and sunk the memorial into Bristol’s Harbor. The mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, commented “it is important to listen to those who think the statue represents contempt for humanity.”[9]

The statue of Edward Colston was replaced in Bristol with a statue of one of the protesters who sent him down. Artist Marc Quinn secretly puts on the resin-and-steel figure of Jen Reid, a BLM protester. A new black resin and steel figure titled A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020.[10] After two days of‘ secret’ installation, the statue has been removed and will be kept in the museum.[11]


References

  1. STATUE OF EDWARD COLSTON. Retrieved January 16 2021.
  2. Slave Trader Statue Torn Down in Bristol Anti-racism Protes.t BBC News June 7 2020. Retrieved January 16 2021.
  3. Edward Colston Statue Removed from Bristol's Harbour. BBC News June 11 2020. Retrieved January 16 2021.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Who was Edward Colston and Why Was His Bristol Statue Toppled? The Guardian June 8 2020. Retrieved January 17 2021.
  5. Edward Colston: Who Was the Bristol Slave Trader and Why Was His Statue Pulled Down? Independent June 08 2020. Retrieved January 17 2021.
  6. Bristol Torn Apart Over Statue of Edward Colston: But is this a figure of shame or a necessary monument to the history of slavery? Independent September 24 2015. Retrieved January 17 2021.
  7. Bristol mayor: City's celebration of Edward Colston is "peverse". Britol Post August 30 2013. Retrieved January 17 2021.
  8. Bristol MP calls for Edward Colston statue to be removed. BBC News October 11 2018. Retrieved January 17 2021.
  9. BLM protesters topple statue of Bristol slave trader Edward Colston. The Guardian June 7 2020. Retrieved January 17 2021.
  10. Edward Colston statue replaced by a sculpture of Black Lives Matter protester Jen Reid. The Guardian July 15 2020. Retrieved January 17 2021.
  11. Bristol sculpture of Black Lives Matter protester Jen Reid is removed. Irish Time July 16 2020. Retrieved January 17 2021.