£500,000 Memorial Misses the Mark: Where's the Tribute to Britain's Role in Ending the Slave Trade?

HMS West Africa Squadron ship ‘The Black Joke’ attacking Slaver ship ‘El Almirante’.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has recently announced a new memorial to commemorate the victims of the transatlantic slave trade. While it's right to honour the enslaved people lost to this brutal chapter in history, this memorial — which cost taxpayers £500,000 — fails to address an equally important aspect of British history: the country's decisive and unique role in ending the transatlantic slave trade.

Instead of promoting national pride, the monument serves as a divisive symbol that reflects the ongoing self-flagellation over Britain’s past.

Britain's Role in Ending the Slave Trade

Britain played a pivotal role in abolishing the slave trade—a role that set a global precedent. The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, driven by relentless campaigning from British abolitionists like William Wilberforce, marked the beginning of the end for the transatlantic slave trade. The legislation led to the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron's active enforcement of the ban on slave trading across the Atlantic. Over the following decades, the squadron seized hundreds of slave ships, rescuing tens of thousands of Africans from the horrors of enslavement. Thousands of British sailors died in service to this fine endeavour.

This achievement is not merely a historical footnote but a defining moment that reflected the values of justice and humanity at the core of British identity. The UK's efforts in dismantling the slave trade and emancipating slaves across the British Empire with the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 were monumental. Our role started a shift in global consciousness, influencing other nations to follow suit.

According to the Mayor of London’s office there are ‘numerous statues and buildings reflecting the wealth and power created by the trade in enslaved African people’ and there are also ‘monuments to commemorate the abolition’ of the slave trade.

However, there is no singular, large-scale memorial in London dedicated solely to the abolition of the slave trade. There are several smaller memorials, but none perform the function of celebrating Britain’s unique and decisive role in ending the slave trade.

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The Buxton Memorial Fountain in Victoria Tower Gardens, Westminster, actually originated as a plan for a water fountain by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain Association, but was taken over by Charles Buxton MP in 1865, and built in memory of his father, Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, a key abolitionist. It commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire and also honours other prominent abolitionists.

While it is a beautiful and important monument, it is not on the scale of The Wake and — importantly — does not commemorate the thousands of British sailors who died serving in the West Africa Squadron in their mission to end slavery.

Presumably ideologue Sadiq Khan and his office have made no mention of it because it was designed by white men (Samuel Sanders Teulon and Charles Buxton) and celebrates one of the greatest Parliamentary events in our history.

Another, Gilt of Cain, in Fen Court in the City, commemorates the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade. The obvious play on words is nonetheless supposed to remind us of our guilt. Again, there is nothing for the British sailors who gave their lives to end slavery.

Otherwise, the various statues, busts and plaques to abolitionists dotting London are low key. A statue to William Wilberforce the prominent abolition is situated within Westminster Abbey — you would think this great man deserves more.

Education or Indoctrination?

The Mayor of London wants The Wake to ‘help to remind and educate Londoners of the capital’s role in this terrible treatment of human beings.’ But when you are to be reminded of only one aspect of a complex historical issue it appears to be a case more of indoctrination than education.

Humans have historically enslaved each other, due to economic and social factors as well as cultural and religious justifications. Perhaps it is simply an inherent tendency of human nature, which we must vigilantly guard against. As such, the British people have also suffered enslavement, in pre-Roman times, by the Romans during and after conquest and by the marauding Vikings. Slavery was perpetuated by the Angles and Saxons; when they wrote laws and decrees forbidding slavery, it continued in another form as ‘serfdom’. The Barbary pirates raided British and European coastal settlements and took an estimated 1.25 million slaves.

The Wake does not commemorate those slaves.

Most importantly, should we not be reminded of the thousands of British sailors who died to end the slave trade? As well as the parliamentarians and abolitionist campaigners behind some of the most remarkable legislation in our country’s history? Abolition was an incredible triumph for democracy and Christian activism. Doesn’t the Mayor of London believe Londoners should be educated about the capital’s role in ending the slave trade?

While the United Kingdom has stood unequivocally against slavery in both law and action, slavery still torments nearly 50 million people in other countries today, notably in North Korea, Eritrea, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Tajikstan, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Afghanistan and Kuwait, according to the Global Slavery Index.

When anti-Israel protesters poured onto the streets of London and chanted ‘Yemen, Yemen, makes us proud, turn another ship around’, was Khan striving then to educate Londoners about the vile Yemeni Houthi forces enslaving and raping Ethiopian women?

The Problem with ‘Woke’ Culture and the Memorial

In recent years, ‘woke’ culture has increasingly dominated public discourse, pushing an agenda that often emphasises guilt over pride in one’s national history. This movement frequently encourages the reinterpretation of historical events through a lens that focuses almost exclusively on past wrongdoings, historical guilt and perpetuating ‘victim culture’ and identity politics.

In this context it is unsurprising that the artist Khaleb Brooks goes by the pronoun ‘they’ and uses art to explore ‘transness’ and the decriminalising of prostitution, ticking key woke boxes.

Statues of historical figures, once celebrated for their contributions to society, are being defaced or removed if their legacies include connections to the slave trade or colonialism. David Hume, Edward Colston, Cecil Rhodes and even Winston Churchill, among others, are now scrutinised primarily for their views on race or links to colonialism

This obsession with the negative aspects of history often overlooks the complexities of the past and imposes a narrow view that ultimately fuels division rather than unity. Which figures from our past can possibly meet today’s standards of ideological purity?

One of these cost taxpayers £500,000.

Fittingly for a memorial so emblematic of woke trends, The Wake bares a striking resemblance to the ‘poo emoji’. Not only is it an aesthetic failure, but its existence as a taxpayer-funded project is an insult to many Britons who believe that their country's historical contributions to the abolition of the slave trade should be a source of pride, not perpetual shame.

A Missed Opportunity for National Pride

Instead of a divisive symbol, the £500,000 allocated for this memorial could have been invested in a monument that celebrates Britain’s role in the abolition of the slave trade. Such a monument could serve as an educational tool, highlighting the courage of abolitionists, the moral leadership of those who fought against the trade, and the efforts of the British Navy in enforcing the ban on slavery.

That would provide a balanced perspective, one that acknowledges past atrocities but also celebrates the positive impact Britain has had on global human rights.

At a time when British society faces numerous challenges, the focus should be on what unites us as a nation and on the significant role Britain has played in advancing the cause of human dignity.

The story of abolition deserves to be told - not simply to absolve past sins, but to light the way forward.

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