How many buildings and institutions in the UK have their roots in the slave trade and what is being done to put things right?

The question came to mind after attending a fascinating talk by historian and City of London tour guide Chris O’Donnell on St Marys Church in Wanstead.

Chris told how some of the revered figures in the church, such as Sir Josiah and his son Richard Child and Jerome and John Heydon (governor of Bermuda – 1679 to 1683) were major operators in the slave trade.

Sir Josiah was a leading member of the East India Company, as well as the Royal African Company, which was a leading player in the slave trade. A colleague of Sir Josiah at the Royal African Company was Sir Edward Colston, whose statue finished up in the dock at Bristol last summer, after his slave trading links were revealed.

On the other side of the argument, the life of abolitionist and former Bishop of London Beilby Porteus is honoured at the back of the church.

Another hero is Vice Admiral Robert Plampin, who as a Navy commander took an active part in the war against the slave trade mounted by the Royal Navy following its abolition in 1807.

The Vice Admiral was involved in a number of acts of liberation, including the freeing of 368 slaves, who were released upon arrival at Sierra Leone.

Chris O’Donnell’s talk provided a valuable insight into this appalling trade. He recalled how in the mid-1830s, the British government agreed to compensate slave owners for their losses.

This meant raising a £20 million loan (£17 billion in today’s equivalent). The final payments on this 180-year long loan were made in 2015, so as Chris pointed out anyone paying income tax up to that date helped compensate slave owners.

The case for a real reckoning with the slave trade and move to pay reparations has gathered pace with the Black Lives Matter movement. What does not seem to have been got over is just how huge the slave trade was and how its proceeds enabled Britain to extend its empire all over the world.

So much of Britain today stands on the shoulders of slaves.

Moving forward, there needs to be a recognition of what actually happened. Then some actions to put things right – this could include the removal of some statues. The country should not be celebrating slavery, with physical memorials to these individuals, but nor should it airbrush them from existence.

Finally, there is the need to address the ongoing racism, the continued institutional racism in all its forms across society. And there needs to be real action, not just empty symbolic promises. There must be real change.

Paul Donovan is a Redbridge Labour councillor for Wanstead village and blogger.
See paulfdonovan.blogspot.com.