Thanks for a great article on slavery in family histories (“My ancestor was a slave trader: the sleuths tackling their dark pasts”, News, last week). My own great-great-grandparents were slaves in Jamaica. The chains attached to the grindstone are still in my family’s back yard in Mike Town.
We have the files and know how much money the slavers received as compensation for freeing us. As for us, we got nothing but hate.
We are not bitter or vengeful. We would just like the history shared.
There is no point feeling guilty or paranoid about what others did years ago. They were of their time and they believed that we were sub-human (apparently some still do). But I congratulate Richard Atkinson for having the strength of character to set out his own family’s history of slave trading.
Valerie Walcott , London N14
Don’t be a slave to hatred
My ancestors came to England from the highlands of Scotland. In researching my ancestry, I also discovered “slavery” — in slate mines in the northeast. Some of my ancestors were forced to work there from as young as nine years old.
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Do I feel enmity towards those who inflicted such cruelty? No. They’re dead. Am I interested? Yes. How would I feel if a statue had been erected in honour of the man who committed these acts? Resentment. Then I’d have a cup of coffee and get on with it.
Stuart Rae, St Albans, Hertfordshire
Freedom from the past
Perhaps it is time to tone down this self-flagellation. Many have ancestors who were slave traders. Let’s move on and deal with today’s problems.
Dr Ian Clements, Hove
Reparation deliberation
Alex Renton believes reparations are necessary to right the wrongs of Britain’s past. Would these be paid for by expropriating the assets of those whose family wealth is proven to be linked to slavery — or from general taxation?
I am from a white working-class heritage and struggle to see how my family benefited from slavery. Would I be taxed to pay for this? What about my grandchildren who have Chinese heritage? Would they be taxed in proportion to their genetic make-up? Clarification, please.
John Austin, Sheffield
Pay back compensation
The British government compensated slave owners when slavery was abolished. So, surely, the question of reparations for the descendants of slaves must lie with the compensated families, rather than the current government and taxpayers, who have already footed the bill once.
Bill Moores, Stoke-sub-Hamdon, Somerset
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Britain was not alone
You state that “Britain dominated [the slave trade] from 1640 until its ultimate abolition in the 1880s”. In fact, slave trading by British merchant ships was outlawed by parliament in 1807; slavery itself was abolished in 1833; and full emancipation of slaves in British colonies was achieved in 1844. The British navy was instrumental in preventing the continuation of the slave trade thereafter.
While not denying the key role played by Britain in this human tragedy, it is worth pointing out that other European nations were equally culpable. Portugal transported more slaves from Africa than Britain.
Tim Brown, Oxford
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