Global protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd are pushing the UK to acknowledge past links to slavery and racism. The BLM movement has particular resonance in the UK, with its track record of colonizing swaths of Africa and the Caribbean and its central role in the global slave trade. The governors of Oxford’s Oriel College voted on Wednesday to recommend removing the statue of Rhodes, one of Britain’s leading imperialists. By the mid-18th century, just three decades after Colston’s death, Britain controlled the lion’s share of the slave trade. The profits from colonialism fueled the Industrial Revolution and funded great civic buildings across the UK, with cities raising statues to their benefactors.

Source: News 24 June 18, 2020 17:48 UTC