I live in Manchester 🇬🇧 and it is well known for its cotton mills. It is little known for the fact that the mills stopped the import of cotton from the slave plantation. There is a statue of Lincoln that he sent as a thank you for helping stop the slave trade. It stands in Lincoln square near Manchester town hall. 👍🏴🤠🇬🇧
Lincoln wrote a letter of thanks; the statue was designed by someone who was only two when the civil war ended and came to Manchester in 1919. Sidenote the northwest's cotton mills were used to destroy India's cotton industry when first printed cloth and the raw cloth was banned from export leaving India only able to export raw cotton to the mother country
Liar! Yorkshire is famous for textiles! I’ll fite you Manxer! 😋 …yes ok Yorkshire was famous for wool :P Very true, this makes me so proud of our history, we had horrible patches like any nation, but we fought to abolished the African slave trade to our financial detriment, and the people were totally in favour of it. :)
It's not important that you didn't know this history before, I'm British AND from a Naval family and I didn't know it either. What is important is that when your view was challenged, you did some research, and were open to changing your mind. That puts you head and shoulders above most other people. Keep doing what you are doing.
@@JGS123WRPTP It was taught in school. It's been compulsory for the past 12 years. You should have listened more. Unless you're too old I guess, in which case, well, we're teaching it now.
The whole saga of Britain’s crusade against the slave trade is one of my favourite historical events. Makes me feel a little more, dare I say, patriotic.
Good grief easy with the sentiment! 😂 ... Either I wasn’t paying attention or this was not taught in school. I’m finding we as a country have a lot to be proud of, in a British kind of way 😉 and you nailed it!
@@johnwade1095 people should be critical of their countries history, taking good with bad, and if after that they are proud, then the nation is a worthy one, and yes, I am proud 🇬🇧
Fun fact. The Royal Navy still patrols west Africa to this day in order to curb human trafficker's, stop drug runners and provide humanitarian aid to those in need. I'm damn proud
You should not be proud !, you should apologies for doing to this planet worse than the nazies , the british empire is a damn disgrace ..... England was built on slavery
I'm from Malaysia. Back in the 18th century, when the British first set foot here, they noticed that the Sultans here used slavery and asked if they can stop there. The sultans attacked the British instead, because it challenged their tradition.
A lot of the reason why slavery ended around the world is because of the influence of the British naval power on world trade at the time. They didn't want to stop doing it, it's just they couldn't do anything about navy blockades and being pulled from trade because the British controlled all the sea trade.
A Major in the early 19 hundreds, arrived in India and at the time the religious leaders would burn widows alive on top of the funeral Pyers of the recently dead Husband's, The Mayor spoke too the leaders. The Religious leaders said it's our right and custom, "He replied yes that's Fine, you can practice your Customs, but I will also practice my Customs from England, and in England we Hang people who set fire to innocent women! Let's say the custom soon stopped.
Thank you Sir. At a time when bashing Britain seems to be trendy you have highlighted a truly noble chapter in the history of that land . Eternal thanks .
My great-great grandfather, Joseph Richmond, served as an ordinary seaman in the African Squadron on HMS Falcon in 1861 on anti-slavery patrol during the US Civil War.
There was a movement in 18-19th century Britain for “slave free sugar” and other products labelled slave-free, to combat the slave trade by not buying products made by slaves, which feels very modern lmao. Keep it up man!
That's like saying anyone who supported Obama supports the slave trade lol. The slave trade is alive and well in Libya, the country that he destabilised with the help of the Democrat party,. Can buy yourself a slave for as little as twenty dollars, I guess Obama will get a free pass on that anyways
The Quakers made anti-slavery a tenet of faith c1600, and their discovery of the living conditions of American slaves led to them resolving not to buy sugar from slave plantations in 1775. Influential Quakers included the Cadburys (chocolate makers), Lloyds and Barclays (bankers) and William Penn (whence Pennsylvania)
The thing about Britain is when we as a country do something good for a good course we dont shout about it .but when we do some bad nobody forgets it .
The anti slavery law was passed due to middle class agitation, the vast majority of British people didn't really care about abolition because it had little visible effect on their lives. Neither did they have a say anyway.
But 99% of the British population didnt own slaves so why would it affect them ,but it just goes to show that people in power can put it to use for a good course .
I think the problem is that, for so much of our history, the opposite was true; we shouted about our good deeds/progress and ignored the negatives. This isn't specific to Britain, of course, and is essentially how every country approaches its own history. But people are rightly trying to redress that balance by pointing out that there WERE negatives, not just in British actions as a nation/empire but in the behaviours, actions and ideals of specific celebrated individuals. In making these arguments, however, some people get swept up in essentially trying to 'prove people wrong' about being proud of British history. This isn't the right approach. We can be proud of our imperfect history just as we can be proud of, say, our imperfect family or friends. You don't have to pretend everything a loved one does and thinks is perfect just to be proud of them, and we don't have to pretend everything Britain has ever done is perfect either. I think we're moving in the right direction, generally, and in a few generations I hope we'll have settled on a more balanced and nuanced view of British and world history. But yes, for now there are people obsessed with the wrongs that Britain has done to the world and others obsessed with the positives of Empire.
Even as a Brit I didn't realise how much impact we had. My history lessons only very briefly covered the Abolition of slavery. Obviously most of it was focused on what happened to slaves.
As far as I can see this has not been taught or mentioned in schools in fact there seems to have been a push to hide the facts in recent years. After the pulling down of the Edward Paulson statue I’d did a bit of digging into him and his involvement in the RAC ( royal African company that traded in slaves ) from 1682 to 1689 the majority of which as a minor way (.not sure but it looks like to me that some one used their shares in the company to float a loan then defaulted then he unloaded them as quickly as he could ) as for the RAC it was founded in 1660 and ceased operating in 1727 most of which it underperformed to the point it to be refinanced at least once to the point it triggered the worst financial crisis in the city of London for last three hundred years ( this is my suspicion of mine based on that King Charles the second pardoned Captain Kidd for his attempt to rob the Tower of London the year before I think he wasting to hide the fact that the Crown Jewels weren’t there as I suspect they had been used by his brother James to finance a war with the Dutch slave traders so he could monopolise it for himself and lost the year before
As a Brit I remember being taught about slavery in America but very little about how huge our role in it was. We don’t learn much about how many slaves Britain had in the Caribbean and how terrible it was. We just learn about a few token free black intellectuals and the white English abolitionists. Funny that
yeah ain't it ridiculous that I was taught in school about how ashamed we should be about our part in the slave trade but not how proud as a country we should be for almost singlehandedly stopping it globally ridiculous
@@jameshead9119When i was at school back in the late 80's to the mid 90's it was almost never really touched on, which kind of does make us ignorant of our past and because of that we never really defended against it and just accepted it as it is. While i knew the UK tried to abolish it and enforce it upon other nations during the mid years of the slave trade.
Don't stress too much brits have "banter" they always come in heavy. Feelings come second to a point being made. Not personal mate. Keep up the good work. And God save the Queen :D
A spot on explanation fella. We ARE a bit of a nation of pisstakers. When me and mates meet up,its just a stream of insults and laughter,thats how we are.
@@TheCornishCockney exactly, Im a Northerner living darn saaf now and whenever I speak to new folk from elsewhere they get so confused as to whether to laugh or not when im taking the piss out of myself being a northerner or anything else I can take the piss out of, Quite funny.
We need grandparents and war veterans in our history classes.. our children should know the warts and all version of our great and sometimes terrible country.
Seriously. People seem to forget that people nowadays die at around 80years of age and so a nation such as Britain will have had more than one leader in its thousand plus years of history.
@@RevStickleback I learned it in high school (in the US) - 25 years ago but there you have it. We didn't learn about it in this level of detail but we did talk about the general timeline of the abolition of slavery beginning in the colonial era.
@@RevStickleback Can’t speak for anyone else but I learned about slavery (and the Britain Empire’s subsequent efforts to globally abolish it) in a bog standard British comprehensive school way back in the 1990’s. Admittedly we weren’t compelled to hate our history and indeed ourselves then as much as now though...
there is a generation here in the States that think slavery started and ended here and the remainder of the earth was pure. this isn't know for a reason and it started a long time before the term political correctness.
@@chipsfalling8625 it's much the same in the UK. My youngest step - daughter (17) was outraged last year when I told her that other countries traded in slaves before we got involved, at the same time as we were involved and never stopped trading in slaves.
I'm surprised he managed to say so much about abolition without mentioning William Wilberforce. We were taught that he was one of the main driving forces getting the anti-slavery laws through Parliament.
@Suðringa o Possibly its because Liverpool, like Bristol and even London was built on the blood of slaves, in fact leading the trade by the 1740's to the extent that an actor booed off the stage of a Town theatre retorted "I have not come here to be insulted by a set of wretches, every brick in whose infernal town is cemented with an African’s blood. " Hull wasn't involved in the slave trade, largely due to a Puritan and somewhat Evangelical history dating back before the Civil War, even though its ships did trade across the world, not just over the North Sea. Wilberforce was hugely influential in the abolition, being a great friend of Pitt and whilst as one might expect of a Tory of his era he was fairly authoritarian in other ways, supporting the Combination Acts for example, its silly to denigrate his contribution on the abolition of Slavery. There are very good reasons why his is still, 200 years later, by far the largest public monument in Hull.
do some research, does he really deserve that much recognition as an individual? he contributed to bringing the arguement to parliment, but wasnt the driving force.
Just know the reason you didn't know is because they didn't *want* you to know. We're not perfect (Opium Wars...), but we've done a lot of good in the world and have created so much as a society that we have given to the world. There is every reason to feel proud of our cultural heritage! That is why evil people *want* you to feel bad about it. For more Sargon (Carl), try lotuseaters.com.
@Jo Sm The stinking half Commies who run the British education system aren't interested in the truth. Just in brainwashing. As a soon to be dad I worry for our future.
@Jo Sm It's too late. I'm only 41 yet I don't even recognise my country any more from when I was a kid. You can't crack a joke, you can't speak your mind. You have to watch your country going down the toilet. You have to shut up and accept becoming a minority in your own country ! Britain is dead. No coming back . Stop dreaming.
Dude, you're so humble. Thanks for such a genuine apology. But you really don't need to apologise, your actions and readiness to learn what you don't know read volumes to me👍❤
It’s still on the national syllabus today, but rather than focusing on William Wilberforce as we were taught it, it includes a lot of other protagonists and includes the slave revolts and people helping slaves to escape (bit like the resistance risking their lives to help people escape the Nazis in WWII).
Mate, ignore people 😂 they literally probably barely know anything about British history without googling it ! You make good videos that are fun to watch, keep doing what your doing
@@anfi7447 By the mid 18th century, London had the largest African population in Britain, made up of free and enslaved people, as well as many runaways. The total number may have been about 10,000.[36] Owners of African slaves in England would advertise slave-sales and rewards for the recapture of runaways.[37][38]
More work should go in to teaching people about this. Obviously Brits did some very bad things before. But this is one the most moral things Britain ever did. Its a travesty that the people who ended slavery are remembered as racist brits. There are no documentaries about this period, no movies. Any movie makers reading this?? Please make a movie or a documentary. Raise awareness.
@@markmorris7123 Yes amazing wasn't it. I'm afraid in the current political climate, so much received 'wisdom' about the history of the trans-atlantic slave trade and modern race relations in the west, is driven by emotion resulting from a limited understanding of the actual facts of what happened. There are an increasing number of books being written on the subject 'The Royal Navy Verses the Slave Trade' is very good, but the only time I am aware of it being touched upon in film was in 'Amisted' (1997), especially towards the end of the film. This was indeed one of the most chivalrous and proud endeavours in human history, and should be more widely taught. However, I believe it should also be seen against the backdrop of both what went before in terms of British (and others) involvement in the slave trade and the subsequent legacy of racism and discrimination, and how it is perceived to still effect both the Black communities and individuals in countries such as the USA and UK.
@@ghostdancer444 I completely agree. It's fine to teach the bad stuff as we can learn from it,, but they shouldn't just leave out stuff which is also 100percent factual. I learned alot about this period recently. The British navy even gave a ship to black Africans consisting mainly from the Ivory Coast and employed their crew to help with the fight. They became part of the West African Squadron. So this could be something that Brits and Africans could celebrate together. They actually teach about this in a school in "Freetown Sierra Leone".its a very uplifting part of history
During the American Civil War, the workers and mill owners of northern england refused buy American cotton for spinning and processing at great cost and hardship to themselves. This was a bottom-up protest not initially backed by the government.
Negative comments!? Ignore them. Don't be sorry for not knowing anything and everything in the world across all time. It's good that you decide to learn and if you can make a living off this, even better.
I'm from England and never knew William the conq was also known as William the bastard. The irony is not lost on me! Negative shmegative. You channel is worth the watch so ignore the negative comments.
It's not his fault, it's the fault of his countries woeful and insular education system. If it doesn't include America in it, then history might as well not exist. I doubt they teach anything about WW2 before Pearl Harbour either.
@@VViIIiam if you've ever been to America and watched the news it doesn't contain anything about the world outside their borders. You really have to try hard to find it.
it used to be taught as the religious were very proud to boast they did it, but now its all about grades and not upsetting the WOKE/PC culture. and not surprisingly slavery has returned to the UK.
I've followed Sargon for years, he's a good egg and a proud Anglo. Also an interesting fact to tie all of this to modern history, in 2014 England finally paid back the last of the loans that they took out in order to end the slave trade back in the 1800's.
@@seanoreilly7293 If you listened to the full video from Sargon, you would find out that slavery was first abolished by William the Conqueror shortly after he took the crown in 1066. William was King of England, not the UK (England did not conquer Ireland for another 100 years or so and Wales about 100 years after that). OK the outlawing of slavery only applied within the realm of England and in due course the UK. If a slave was brought to the UK they automatically became a free man, however the North Atlantic Slave Trade never brought slaves back to the UK, they were always taken direct to the 'customer lands'. The British ships engaged in this trade only returned to the UK with the goods and wealth that they had obtained from the sale of the slaves, before heading off again to West Africa to load up again with more slaves, bought from the locals that had captured them in the first place. Thus England was the first country to outlaw slavery in its own land. From the early 1800's (only about 100 years after Scotland joined the UK) the UK set about abolishing slavery in its empire, colonies and eventually forcing this policy on the rest of the world.
@@peacemaker6662 Interesting question. I suppose that you are talking about paying off the debt incurred by abolition. To save a long argument as to where net taxation is raised, I am willing to accept that these were costs paid out by the British Exchequer. This does not change the fact that it was England which was the first country to outlaw slavery in its own land, all be it that that is only because England got conquered before the other countries that ended up making up Great Britain.
@Jo Sm it happens everywhere, but history is currently being rewritten. There is a massive complaint about the white washing of British history, but how many black sailors do you think there were at Trafalgar, yet there is a black sailor commemorated on Nelson's column, his efforts, achievements and his place in history firmly established on an outstanding monument. Doesn't stop the statue bashers from calling for the removal of the column "because it depicts a slave", no slaves in the Royal Navy (though at one point many seaman were shanghaied). The full story of the Potato Famine has been manipulated to look like something the British enacted on the Irish (at the time the Irish were British). And the crofter evictions in Scotland are painted as the fault of the English, when it was more the fault of the clan leaders.
Imagine actually being proud to be British lmao Im not British im scottish and part of Europe, but not British and certainly not proud of our colonial imperial history
@Jo Sm I was more referring to the mass genocides and thefts that went on all around the world as part and parcel of colonialisation. If you want to talk about irish history, I would argue for about 200 years, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. It was literally the same country as Britain and not knowing what went on during that time is blissful ignorance rather that somebody studiously researching what happened during that period.
GCSE, A-level and a degree in history and I only knew the basic facts about Britain's involvement in the ablution of the slave trade. I know more about Britain's involvement but this was interesting and worth looking into in greater depth. Thank you.
I'm Irish and I knew from child hood the vikings sailed in to Irish ports hundreds of years ago and took human cargo mostly women it's gone on from the beginning of time
@@virtualatheist it's a sad fact of life but people will take advantage of other people for their own advantage weather that is for s e X money or just for a power trip very sad
I left secondary school in the early 1960s age 15 with no qualification, There is no excuse for the individual not to go into a book shop or library and read British History , I am still surprised that people say I never knew that on history who have been well educated on the subject, I worked at the National Archives for some years I never found in later years those with a A-level or degree for history that knowledgeable on the subject, For 60 years there is not a week that goes by that I will not read or watch some history on TV or Computer, I knew about the British Royal Navy involvement in the slave trade way back in the late 1950s at school.
It's a mandatory module for any GCSE history student in the UK. It's taught to every student who chooses History and most schools offer it pre-GCSE too.
@@calum5975 They teach the slave trade but when i was at school ten years ago they told us that we were responsible for it and it was only due to the exploitation of Africa that we had an industrial revolution. it was only later when I joined the sea cadets did I learn about the Royal Navy's insolvent in it's abolition and the role it plays today in upholding law at sea.
And did you know that the hymn “Amazing Grace” was written by a British ex-slave ship captain to atone for his previous life .........in the words of Micheal Caine ,.... “not a lot of people know that” 😂
@@midwestamericans3806 Another cool fact about Amazing Grace is that it was set to the musical tune 'New Britain'. which now famously remains it's accompaniment
Yes I did know that! The only thing that surprises me is that the bleeding heart apologists who like to go around destroying our historical statues haven't demanded that the hymn should be banned because of the author's former connection!
To answer the question in your caption: because it doesn't fit the present-day narrative. If it weren't for the British Empire, let's just say the world would be a very different place to what it is now.
Talk about stating the bleeding obvious! Hopefully, the present day narrative is about the analysis of all aspects of slave trade practices from both the victim's and the beneficiaries' viewpoint. Yes, Britain was at the forefront of abolition but it should also be remembered that British slave owning companies insisted on being compensated by the taxpayer for the loss of their "commodities" to such an extent that the sum was only overtaken by the British Govt's. propping up of the banking system during the 2007 crash.
So Britian had a large history in the spread of slavery in the American colonies and the Caribbean. In fact 1670s slaves sold by the Royal African company were branded with DY for the Duke of York. In fact an article from the British library details some of the involvement www.bl.uk/restoration-18th-century-literature/articles/britains-involvement-with-new-world-slavery-and-the-transatlantic-slave-trade. Much like America, Britian managed to see the errors of slavery and all the harm it caused, but it took time to do so and correct it. If slavery wasnt a major part of colonization and expansion there would have definitely been a hell of alot less harm done. Lessons learned by suffering and even bloodshed to end the practice. But focusing only on one part of that history leaves out to many details of why and how.
@Jo Sm last I looked the Southern colonies were pro slave so not much resistance there, many of the Northern colonies added no slavery, all are free clauses to state constitutions after the revolution. But pre revolutionary war no we were governed by appointed governors by the King we followed the laws they enacted, the same king Charles 2 and his brother James Duke of York. The 2 same brothers who were in control of Royal Africa Company from 1660. Who from 1660 to 1713 imported to the Caribbean and the Americas 100,000 black slaves in fact many were branded with DY for Duke of York. Yes it took blood and tears to end slavery in America, and it continued after we became a nation. The Civil war is still our biggest loss of life, no war has surpassed it yet. Yes Britian allowed slavery into its American colonies and even profited by doing so as America profited by allowing it to continue. Sometimes it takes awhile for good people to become powerful enough to change even through force harmful horrible laws or practices and both country's finally did so. Both Nations have the bloody stain left from slavery, and both Nations have consistently fought against once they finally woke up and stopped dealing in it and allowing it to prosper. But the legacy of the past is still our history.
@Jo Sm point one slavery came to America via the British it came to the colonies in the same way the Irish indentured servants did thru the British government who removed them from their lands and its Companies, for your edification Jefferson, and Washington owned slaves as did many of the founders long before the revolutiony war when we were still British owned. Vermont was the fourteenth state to join the United States. Never allowed slaves and was a big underground railroad stopping point. They also supplied men for the Union army many town parks have monuments with every soldiers name from the area including my relatives. The Southern colonies had slaves most Northern colonies did not. As to a rant exactly what wasnt factual, was it the history of the Royal Africa Company selling slaves or that the Royal was because it's the way King Charles made money from his company. How about the fact Slavery was established and used long before Americas rebellion and the fact slavery stayed until 1860 with the civil war both true facts. Another true fact the civil war is our highest life costing war to this day.
The point is that we still reap the benefits from collonialism and then deny it. If we present a Xenophobic front to the world then what can we expect. We harassed other countries within living memory, but house war refugees in ghettos because they're brown. Bit of a double standard.
@@rsmith6366 House them in ghettos? Are you sure they aren't the ones responsible for making them ghettos? Also do you suggest we house these people in the most well off areas when we have over 300,000 homegrown homeless?
@@sniffyjoe4229 We should house all homeless people. We have the money and the houses to do so. Nobody needs two homes, we should build affordable homes for all people and only then consider building mansions for the mega wealthy cunts.
This is the first of your videos I have watched and, as a proud Brit, I'll be watching some more! Having the grace to admit when you're wrong is what sorts out the men from the boys!!🏴🇬🇧
We used to have much pride in our history but as this is no longer taught in schools or college / university anymore so kids these days have no idea about these parts of our history and they just believe the awful retoric they have been told and taught by Communist/ Marxist teachers who want to overthrow our democracy in favour of bringing in socialism/ Communism/ Marxism they aren't taught that in the countries that have tried these there have been over 100 million deaths because of it and it's not all free and fair like they are being told. We need to go back to teaching proper hIstory not all this decolonising of history which is hand picked and ebforces their narrative.
I don't know why, but you kept on popping up in my feeds. I thought "Oh, another reaction to the UK" of which there are many. It seems though that you have a genuine interest. I have lived outside of the UK (although I have come back now) for half of my 60 years and at times I have been held personally responsible for acts committed hundreds of years ago, to which I replied "See you in court". In these times of global difficulty yours is a rare curiosity which as a Brit I find flattering. Liked and subscribed.
Because of the War of Independence the British Empire has often been portrayed in US history as this huge "Bogy Man" and that image still persists today, just look at how many films from Hollywood have the main villains have English accents. Yes we the British are far from totally innocent but not "Evil" as some have made us out to be.
The British people as a whole understand that slavery was dealt with (by us) 200 years ago. It's only pursued by those with an axe to grind and those that see an opportunity to cash in. The slaves referred to in the Domesday book were not foreigners drafted in, they were British subjects that worked for board and lodgings and not money, at a time when money was in it's infancy.
Brilliant video mate, Sad to hear you've had negativity, you can never know everything, that's why you are taking your time to learn. Anyone that cant see that isn't worth worrying about. Great channel, keep up the good vids! :)
Not only that, when the UK banned Slavery Worldwide in 1833, the British Government took out a loan equivalent to 40% of UK GDP to pay Slave Owners within the British Empire to free their slaves. The British Tax Payer continued to pay off this loan until 2015, when the final payment was made to the Banks. So British alive today, paid to end Slavery Worldwide, and I personally paid taxes for 35 years to end Slavery, so you can imagine why there were so many negative comments, and why we take exception to being labelled with 'White Privilege' here in the UK. History says different.
@@brucemcdonald4372 Statues are objects, they are objects paid for by individuals, or their progeny, to celebrate/condone their actions. Hardly culture when they don't influence anything outside their local area. Also, 'they' aren't toppling statues. 'We' are. The British. Just like 'we' pushed to end the slave trade.
@@claytonmarkmccarthy2593 doesn't matter how you dress it...being welcomed into another society and then setting out to destroy it over historical greivensess is wrong in this day and age and being supported/encouraged by the left is disgusting....personally I think most of those complaining about British history don't know it....we could do with someone in charge with abit more bkbone
the ignorance of the young, living a life of plenty without knowing their past, is the saddest endeavour of modern times, the real truth of our past is hidden under layers of misguided stupidity. The British young should be proud to be British, but instead, their ignorance clouds their emotions only resulting in their ever-growing naivety.
Most people do not understand that slavery was the norm throughout the world. The Vikings were slave traders as were the Romans before them. Though the Vikings took slaves from what is now the UK, in raids, there were slaves in the UK until the Norman Conquest 1066 changed things. The USA concentrates solely on the slave triangle as if that was the full story. There have been recent objections, based on BLM, to the line in "Rule Britannia" that says "Britons never never never shall be slaves." The song takes a different, more positive, interpretation in the light of this video.
A further and long forgotten slave trade was that of Europeans who between the 1500s and early 1800s were sold in the markets of North Africa. Barbary Pirates would attack merchant ships and then sell passengers and crew. They would also land along the British coast and take whole villages. Cornwall with it’s remote fishing villages suffered badly. In one account I’ve read a whole village of 240 men women and children were taken overnight. Between the dates above, one to two million people were taken. Men sold as labourers and women as concubines. This was the origin of the song Rule Britannia as the Royal Navy fought to protect people from capture.
pretty sure that slavery back in those days would have been very useful because things like farming, building and other labor intensive jobs would be very common and with the lack of modern machinery slaves would have been the cheapest and most effective source of labor. slavery is literally the very foundation through which civilizations are built
@@huggableteddybearxd9735 The Romans actively suppressed mechanisation to ensure full employment of slaves. As a side note slave is derived from Slav as the Romans sourced a lot of slaves from the Russian steppe.
Interestingly there is a huge DNA connection between Yorkshire and Iceland because of the Danish Vikings raiding, stealing women and shipping them off to help populate the island a thousand years ago!
I served my nation 20 years ago, but not massively patriotic, however when he put the union Jack up and said it sands for freedom etc.. I got a touch of goose bumps. However in the early 90s we did learn this in about 3rd year history. I can recall romans, ww1 & 2, and the triangle slave trade. One thing I do recall is when a British ship approached the slavers, they would jettison the slaves
Something else to learn. The Union Jack is a naval flag. To represent the country it is called the Union Flag. I only found this out a short while ago.
@@legend9335 it would better represent the union if there was a red dragon in the corner. Wales is not recognised on the union flag. Only N. Ireland, Scotland and England. 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
the loans to pay off the slave owners was taken out in 1833 ,it was finally paid off in 2015 , at the time it was a loan equal to 40 percent of the national budget
I was born in Hull, we were taught about abolition and the role of William Wilberforce MP for Hull. The entire argument and debate is still there on Hansard records. England has given far more than she ever took.
@@Otherdave008 It's a bit hard to admit that if you genuinely live in those places. You can't blame Indians for disliking what Britain's role in their history. People go on about bringing them western culture, democracy and technology, but never mention the sinking of the Indian GDP thanks to colonisation or the horrific acts carried out. History isn't black and white, and we can't expect people to just forget the bad because we did a few good things here and there. If we want to be admired for the good parts of our history, of which there are many, we have to acknowledge the bad too. For every railroad we built, every hospital and school set up, and parliament we inspired, we built Kenyan Concentration Camps, defranchised French Quebecois and negligently caused a famine in Bengal that killed millions. Apart from the former Dominions, they were treated as possessions to be used. We never pretended otherwise. We gave India up as soon as it became unprofitable, same story in Africa. 'Enlightening' them was just a mask to give it some sort of moral standing.
@@calum5975 Well now they have a comparison, how's Islam or communism doing for these countries ? Most Indians I know have great respect for Britain, more so than today's indigenous young. What was evil is now mostly history and yet what is good still remains.
@@MAX-tw3qz I agree, modern Britain isn't a reflection of our past, and our historic transgressions do not define us, but that doesn't mean we haven't done terrible things, and it doesn't mean grudges cannot be held. If we want countries to thank us for the good we have done, we can't then moan when countries care to remind us of the bad we have done. If you want to argue we gave more than we took, don't shrug off what we took. As for the point about young people; being ashamed of certain aspects of our history doesn't mean they do not respect Britain. Being ignorant and pretending our history is all roses is not respect, it's ignorance, respect is understanding our history and our present, and the youth today are simply better educated in history than ever before thanks to the opening of university to more people. The Islam and communism bit is completely irrelevant, not a single British former colony has ever practised communism, and a select few are Muslim. Nice strawman. The fact you raised that as a point shows what shapes your worldview, and it probably isn't a decent education on this topic.
Thank you for making this video. This element of british history is far too often ignored, or hidden in order to benefit other political purposes, especially in the modern world. You should not be sorry for your prior comments, since those were made with the information you had been (incorrectly) fed from your own education prior to the discovery of the truth. A lot of people will benefit from viewing this video.
A Brit here. Thank you for highlighting this and please do not take these negative comments to heart!!! Appreciate the fact that someone is actually trying to state real facts instead of the myths and fake narratives that so many want to spread about the British and slavery!!! Bows!!!
Them that name you with word-coinage - literally own you! ......The word: "Slave" ... was and is a violently inconvenient demeaning volatile word that had outlived it's usefulness inside a pecking order basically feudal system because it invited dissent. In many cases in our history the words apprentice subject tenant employee even soldier etc supplanted it ....because they were just as effective in demeaning and manipulating people without being so obviously volatile... My father's humane trade name when he was a young man was deliberately demoted during his lifetime. It was deliberately changed from the title -word : "Collier" downwards to that of the subject-word: "Miner!" The Market in The City of London used it's tool The London Press to debase and devalue people and trades by simply changing words.... A vital fact of life is that the more words that are utilised to de...scribe and divide classes and groups of people the more invisible and vulnerable to societal abuse and manipulation by The Establishment they become! The word that entitles me to my own true Nationality is denied to me deliberately. England is not recognised by any othe Country in the World as being a Country I am refused my own nationality and nationhood by the Capital City that openly and falsely claims to represent me? Why be british for thieves....
@@englishpassport6590 Personally do not think our Capital City represents any of us fairly, looking at the broader view. We can all manipulate facts for are own personal agendas. It is such a shame in this day anybody should be treated the way many of us are! unfortunately do not see that changing unless we stop being so narrow minded and work together in a civil way. None of us are indigenous to this country and the world hasn’t learnt anything from history.
@@ghostship8885 "US "... "We" .."Our".... such as you presume too much of I ...."We-Us-Our-Is " ..up! Why identify ...with you creatures in any way shape or form ..... your'e beneath contempt ......
@@englishpassport6590 When you have grown up and learnt some matters and a moral compass,finished education about history. Then I will have a Adult conversation with you until then you will be ignored from now on. Typical childish response!!!
There have always been people of African heritage, visiting and living in Britain since Phoenician times. In Elizabethan times when Privateer ships challenged mainly Spanish ships, any enclosed African people were given the option of working their way to England or Wales, as free women and men, with the proviso that they at least notionally accept the Protestant Faith. Black communities built up in London and other cities, with much intermarriage with the white/indigenous population
@@krashd In some countries (such as UK/Europe) are experiencing low birthrates and declining populations, if too many people have interracial relationships eventually the line between the two races would be blurred and there would be extreme damage in national security and the future of many cultures. Interracial marriages are much more likely to result in divorce, especially if it involves a black male.
It's not a big deal that you messed up and I am happy that you apologised but everyone will never know everything. Don't bother with rude comments even if you make a mistake.
Canadian here. Supposedly we are the most educated nation in the world. AND THIS WAS NEWS TO ME!!! I was under the impression that it was Denmark that first outlawed slavery. Well, I'm as blown away as you are. I really enjoyed this video. I'm probably going to stop by more often.
Dane here :) We were but are also insignificant lol and the Brits did go the whole way first. Originally Denmark outlawed it in 958 and then again in 1793 (went live in 1803) but we continued having slaves in the Danish Virgin Islands (now US Virgin Islands..) up until around 1850 - and to add insult, when we sold the Virgin Islands we sold the population down the river too.. Your guys not about due a Snaps? Before someone starts leaving Stoli[chnaya] for both of us lol
The Danes dont count. They kinda brought it back and then got rid of it then bought it back so theres a dispute there. Plus they only did it their own country not the world like Britian did which is why its not around today. God bless our wise ancestors
@@rickybuhl3176 I've always wondered why those bottles don't explode with the freezing insides. Like I know that its basically anti-freeze but we're talking Canadian cold here. Not Baltic Sea seasons.
@@Heartdrive Well, yes and no - we didn't bring it back any more than the British, who originally outlawed it 100 years after us when William The -Bastard- Conqueror arrived. The laws made back at the turn of the millennium just hadn't allowed for the later Christians trying to worm out of it by saying that heathens were kosher for the trade, the Pope dividing the world up and all that preaching/colonizing. The second wave of abolitions had a number of countries involved but none of the rest of us had the authority that Britain did, neither did Britain for a century or more - once they'd beaten Napoleon a couple of times and acquired Frances territories, then they were in a position to enforce rather than just enact, as the rest of us had. Realistically - that was the first time anyone had been able to enact that type of thing on a global scale and be able to give a good punt at backing it up. The Enlightenment was a necessary step, as was Adam Smith's work. Denmark has a population less than London, we're not gonna be able to enforce anything on the same scale, the effect simply isn't the same. Only way we can affect that many people is with cartoons.. Britain was able to do something pretty bloody epic but claiming they outlawed slavery throughout the world is obviously over-stating the fact - with some nations only abolishing it in the 20th century and conservative estimates putting illegal slavery at higher numbers than at any point in human history, as a result of growing populations, I wouldn't say it's the most heavily enforced law outside of our own interested territories.. Similar to the Bible 'the world' then didn't mean what it does now.
@@rickybuhl3176 I wonder if there is a link between the Danes in 958 and William's declaration in the UK (at least culturally). Denmark and Normandy were both Viking controlled if I recall
Good video, it's worth pointing out that even before the Civil War the US navy was also sending out patrols to the Atlantic and West African coast to stop slave ships. They also sent USN ships into the Mediterranean to fight the Islamic slave raiders, as the Royal Navy had done on and off since the 17th century.
The politicians who pushed for antislavery were generally always against it. Opinion in government only changed when new politicians came in with new ideals. No one's mind was changed, they just replaced the deck with new cards.
I was never taught this in school, in my homeland of Scotland. And fuck sake this should have been bloody taught. This is something to utterly be proud of. And the reason its not, is it praises Britain. A Heresy and Treachery that can only be repaid with scorn. Cause I'm more proud to be British and have heritage like this. Than any thrust upon me by others. Cause they say so.
Scottish by birth, British by birthright. The agenda is to destroy the UK as a symbolic victory for The Left. Scotland was VERY different prior to devolution, and the rise of the SNP in the mid 2000's....not only different, BETTER.
I was taught about the slave trade and the Abolition Movement when I was at school in Scotland back in the 1960s and 1970s. It was mentioned in both history and geography classes. I even knew about the court case for freeing Joseph Knight in 1774. He had been brought to Scotland by his master Wedderburn. Ordinary Scots people stood up for Joseph and he won his case against Wedderburn. I don't know when or where you went to school, but you can't say this is not taught in Scotland just because you never heard about it.
I don’t know if it is covered in the wider video, but one of the leading abolitionists was my fellow Yorkshireman William Wilberforce. Sadly although he campaigned to abolish slavery for years I believe he died the day before the abolition was passed into law. You should, with regard to The West Africa squadron check out the exploits of ‘The Black Joke’ a captured slaver pressed into service by the Royal Navy that went after other slave ships with the West Africa Squadron in a distinguished career. Don’t let the negative comments sway you from increasing and developing your knowledge. That is never a bad thing and is to be applauded.
Yorkshire Day is held on 1st August, partly to recognise the efforts of William Wilberforce as 1st Aug 1834 is the emancipation anniversary. (fellow Yorkie here)
My parents were born in Kingston upon Hull, the birth place of abolitionist William Wilberforce. He died on 29th July 1833 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. One month later, the House of Lords passed the Slavery Abolition Act which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire by August 1834. This law commenced on 1st August 1834, exactly one hundred years before my mother was born. This date later became Yorkshire Day.
Furthermore, my mother's 2nd cousin, 4x removed was an American born man named Colonel Pren Metham (1830 - 1917) who was a farmer in Ohio. He was also a founder member of the Republican Party in the 1850s who were opposed to the Confederate "slave states" in the south joining the Union States, which led to the American Civil War. He became Captain, 2nd Lieutenant and mustering officer for Company F, 80th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry and fought in the American Civil War as a Union soldier which led to the abolition of slavery in the USA. He also witnessed the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln (the Republicans first President) in 1865 and was the first man to jump onto the stage in pursuit of John Wilkes Booth. He was named after his father, grandfather and great grandfather (the latter was my 7x great grandfather). All three men were British and all of them were born in Lincoln in the county of Lincolnshire. So England/Britain also played a part in the abolition of slavery in the United States.
That guy's a massive right-wing troll. It's best to ignore anything he says as, if he DOES get something right, it's probably by accident. It's best to use other sources and not someone with a history of distortion and lies. Apart from anything you can't just look at slavery. It has to be placed into a wider context of empire and colonialism but also oppression of the British working class at home.
@@codgemeister1whatever you think of Sargon he's always pretty accurate with his history - he's well educated and takes his time in research. The fact that he can upset the whoppers that accuse him of being all kinds is even better - he has a sense of humour.
@@codgemeister1 the truth is the truth, no matter who speaks it. but WE all know FACTS dont matter to leftists, it doesnt fit with their ideology or narrative. and my taxes help pay off the slavers. did yours?
@@codgemeister1 Huh, that's funny - because when somebody's opening criticism of a person is that they're a "massive right-wing troll" that's an excellent indication that the person making the criticism is a perpetually indignant lefty with 'a history of distortion and lies' and its best to ignore them and form your own opinion on the subject of their critique. Could you name some more people you deem to be massive right wing trolls? I've been getting through a lot of YT content since lockdown started and I could do with subscribing to more good content creators.
@@victormuckleston Sargon has taken MASSIVE liberties with the truth on many occasions. He's right on this one but let's not make this a left vs right pissing contest.
When slavery was abolished, the British government had to buy out the British slave owners. As a result they paid a sum that had not been matched in peace time untill the bank bailouts in 2009! This debt was only finally paid off in 2010s. (Though I might add that the money went to the slave owners and not the slaves themselves. Not a judgement as we should judge history by modern ethics, not something certain people gloss over when telling that story.)
Politically inconvenient to let people know what basically EVERY country did at the time. Yes it is shameful for everyone. FYI, interesting to know the debt to the U.K., from initiating and forcing the abolition of slavery was eventually paid off in 2015.
@@jimaspinall2927 No. That debt was for compensating the slave owners (needed to get enough votes to get the act through the House of Lords). It was payed off when the interest rates dropped enough that it was cheaper to borrow new money.
@@johnmulligan7609 Yes, but that was not covered by the debt paid off in 2015. Partly because the Royal Navy raised money independantly from the rest of the government (at least early on - I don't know when that system ended).
Thank you for setting the record straight! Britain has always been ahead of the game, but especially when it comes to human rights. The woke generation is not bothering to arm itself with any of the facts and trying to make out that we're as bad or worse than other countries when it comes to issues of race, and it just isn't true. Of course they don't want to hear it, because it doesn't fit with their narrative 🙄 At some point reason will prevail and they'll be called out on their utter BS.
Ignorance is not a crime, we can't all know everything. Only wilful ignorance, and especially wilfully stubborn ignorance, is a crime. You made a mistake, you admitted that mistake, you apologized for that mistake, and you learned from that mistake. Those are the actions and attributes of not only a wise man, but also of an honourable man. Well done!
we sacrificed many souls and ships to protect the ancenstors of the people who today blame us for all of it although we did very little in comparison to those who continued when we stopped so we destroyed there ships
It's pretty shit that we weren't even taught this in school. We don't even get taught that the british were the first to abolish slavery. We just get taught it ended in 1865 after the American civil war
@Jo Sm Denmark/Norway Empire began legislation to stop their own participation in the slave trade to their colonies in the Caribbean a couple of years before the UK (1792 to become effective in 1803) but it was unilateral and did not try to inhibit the trade as a whole. A total ban on owning slaves was introduced in 1848, which was after the British made it illegal in 1833, taking effect in 1834. .
There's a wonderful film called, 'Amazing Grace' starring Rhys Ifans, telling the story of William Wilberforce's life long fight to end slavery. Plus if you've seen the film 'Amistad' you will note it is the British Navy that attacks the slave fortress, Lomboko, in Sierra Leone, whilst the court case is on going in the USA. None of this excuses the Brits for their practice of slavery, but it does give historical facts. p.s. ever wondered why Sierra Leone's capital is called Freetown? I find it quite poignant.
I'm so sorry you got any hateful comments. Everyone has to learn what they know at some point in their life so it's silly to get angry at people for not knowing something yet.
I had read that during the American war of independence Britain offered slaves freedom if they fought for the crown. I knew this happened and it makes sense now knowing this.
And when they lost, they honoured their commitment, transporting those folks and their families away, whereas the victorious new American states conveniently forgot the promises the british's offer of manumission had forced them to make in response.....
The anti-slavery lawsuits were a major reason the southern American colonies joined the revolution; they saw the writing on the wall regarding slavery and sought to delay it.
@@penname5766 Yeah, no. It doesn't. The founders were very aware of the potential for future conflict (and wrote about it) over slavery because most of the northern states understood that it was over and were making moves to make it illegal.
@@andymason5715 Yes, most of those former slaves who fought for Britain wound up in Nova Scotia after the war. Which is ironic because that was the center of the slave trade in Canada and wasn't abolished in Canada until 1834. Point is - Vermont banned slavery in 1777, Pennsylvania in 1780, Massachusetts in 1783, Ohio 1787, New York in 1799, etc. None of those states were fighting to preserve slavery but at the time people were well aware that it was going to cause problems down the road and four score and seven years later 330,000 Americans died fighting to end slavery.
We've just learnt that despite what we do, the British most notably the English are hated for for it. Regardless of which, we will still get on with it.
This is a good video, interesting history that defiantly needs more coverage. however i'm from Bristol and my dad from Liverpool both massively built up from slavery. as a nation we shouldn't forget that too.
We have to be careful not to imply that built up cities meant that everyone living there somehow benefited from the Empire. You could probably travel now, anywhere in the former Empire, and find a Victorian public library and an overly ornate town hall with a dodgy looking statue in front of it.
@Jake Kam I'm from Bristol too . It's good that statue is gone as it upset people. But that Colston man was just a rich horrible man . He cared only for the rich and helped only the rich and got rich by his evil actions abroad. The poorer classes had nothing to do with him and we now have nothing to be ashamed about . I say pull down Colston school . Makes no difference to anyone but the rich ! And Colston Hall name has been changed . It makes no difference to the inside of the building. It just upsets older people who have memories of it which I do understand too . But eventually the place would have been upgraded and changed anyway. I am not ashamed of Bristol. I am not rich
Fun fact when slavery in the Empire was ended compensation was paid to every owner, no claim was made from Canada. the single largest claimant was get this the Church of England.
A general rule of thumb in Britain is if the churches (protestant or Catholic, it makes little difference) were involved then it was probably some shady shit. Gotta say fuck yeah to Canada though, seems almost ever thing I hear about that country is good stuff!
Hey bro, it’s nice to see you learning from things and actually checking the comments to see our reaction to your reaction, it’s also good to see the channel grow, keep it up 👍
The saddest thing is that there are over 3 times more slaves today than in the hundreds of years of the Atlantic slave trade. Around 1 in 200 people alive today are slaves.
I was one of the ones who correcting you in the comments. There wasn't malice to it, but with how many were commenting, I probably shouldn't have. Sorry bro.
If I am wrong I have no problem with being corrected, there were some nasty comments but definitely not all the ones correcting me were. Thanks for apologizing though. Hope you all the best.
I saw Sargon's video a while ago and have found that most people who are vocal about slavery out if Africa are completely oblivious to what's in this video. I also visited the slave museum and some places where slaves were sold while in holiday in Gambia many years ago. I have also found that those most vocal about slavery out of Africa have no knowledge of the part Africans played in slavery.
Slavery existed in Native American communities prior to Europeans getting there. The British ended slavery in the Empire and beyond for the first time in history. Sadly it’s come back with a vengeance in post colonial Africa, China and North Korea.
@Jo Sm You believe some right old tosh. When were the Barbadian & Jamaican slave revolts? When & what was the First Reform Act? When was the Slavery Abolition Act? When did the UK free its last slaves? Who worked the sugar plantations after abolition?
@Jo Sm Actually, If you take a look at the life and times of Bilal in Islamic history you can see that Mohammad was ambivalent to slavery as an idea, and that he outright stated that there shouldn't be any slaves, but that it was a matter of personal piety to free slaves, whether the man was pro-slavery or pro-abolition of it, doesn't exist in the historical record because he didn't have the political freedom or the time to enact that sort of sweeping societal change. However if you want a measure of his thoughts you can look at the rule of his son-in-law Ali, who favoured Mohammad's personal teachings in all his rule. If however you want to be Islamophobic about Slavery, I will point out nobody in the world has any room to talk, Slavery existed everywhere and there is no place in the world that has ever gone abolitionist prior to like the 1200's at the earliest. (Sweden)
@Jo Sm You do notice the contradiction in your point here don't you? It's either an act of piety to release slaves, or releasing slaves is something he can criticize people for, you can't have it both ways. Which freed people did he re-enslave precisely, and ok, he had thirty slaves when he died... George Washington had 317 and so? Except of course that your source on Islamic Theology is a Salafi Saudi scholar who doesn't believe in non-hate speech, taking his word for Islam is about as valid as taking Nigel Farage's word on the EU, or Donald Trump on Mexico.
@Jo Sm 1. it's not a compulsion, but again its a theological and ideological standpoint that bottoms out in "Slavery Bad" I've not actually seen anything attributed directly to Mohammad, ie Sahih Bukhari or Sahih Muslim that supports your previous assertions. 2. I still haven't been able to find a source that details Mohammad's participation in the slave trade, beyond buying and freeing slaves. So I'm still very curious as to your sources for this. If you have someone of the dignity of Lewis or Montgomery Watt, I'd like to see it. 3. Al Fawzan is Saudi cleric, which means theologically that his remit is Saudi Arabia and presumably Shaafi'i, You're claiming that his authority is Universal, but you haven't provided any evidence that scholars of Hanbali, Hanafi or Maliki agree with him. Nor have you provided any evidence that his theological thought is accepted amongst Shia Islam. If you're going to keep using the Nigel Farage of Islam as a source, maybe you should check what others think. 4. I'm not an apologist for Islam, I'm asking that you provide a clear untainted source for you're rather vitriolic arguments. 5. I'm not a Muslim, I'm a Lutheran, so he isn't "my Prophet" If I wanted to go into theological apologia for my beliefs, i'd have to start considering far more interesting theological points, such as how much the fine for abortion should be in modern society.
As a brit, it's hardly taught in school. I did history on the East India company but that was mostly about merchants and the spice trade, though the slavery crusade came into it in little detail (no mention of how the laws came to pass etc) Though even in little knowledge, the base concept of ending slavery was learned and what soon became to be called the commonwealth as a result of the era. That the commonwealth held the same views and adhered to the anti slavery laws or faced punishment under the crown.
At the time we were a broke country with little money left after the wars and yet we still stood against slavery. Maybe not always for the right reason but hey the ends justify the means.
A lot of British history is basically just glanced over, with just a few lines of explanation, due to the shear amount of it that there is. We have over 10,000 years of history to learn (from the start of stone age Britain), compared to just over 200 years for modern day Americans. :P All I got in my History lessons (decades back) about the slave trade was that Britain was the first country to fully abolish it and it was one of the reasons the American colonies went to war against us, and that was it.
When the slave boats were captured they were taken to Freetown in Sierra Leone,each captured person was documented and then allowed to leave,when they passed through the gates of the port they were then free men .The registers and the dock gates still exist
Yeah... you do realise that we brutalised foreign people as well as our own after this as well, we just didn't do slavery. We're also setting a very bad example with Brexit by shunning mainland Europe eventhough it hurts us economically and culturally. Why do we have to cut ties with the EU in order to trade with China and the US? Why does 1/2 of all Russian money laundering pass through London banks? Why are we isolating ourselves from our closest alies?
@@rsmith6366 Firstly I don’t know why you have brought the EU into this but I will go ahead and explain anyway... At the start just leaving the EU yea it kind of hindered our economy I guess however in recent months the country has signed trade deals and partnerships possibly worth billions that wouldn’t be possible while being in the EU. Already other nations and big players within the EU such as France and Spain are doubting their membership badge and they’re supposably the ones holding it together! I think we’ve led a great example. What “closest allies” are we actually isolating ourselves from exactly? I’m not claiming to be some historian but anyone who knows just a slither of basic history knows that our “closest allies” are outside the EU and reuniting. We don’t dislike Europe, just the Union..
@@itzchaos3861 Yeah, I am a historian. Our closest allies are literally Western Europe. We share culture, politics, trade routes, language... Exactly what trade deals have we secured outside of the EU that the EU wouldn't allow? Maybe that would be because they go against anti corruption laws and human rights legislation. Half of Rissian money laundering already goes through London banks, you can create a shell company in the UK without any checks which allows money laundering. 68% of trade to Europe has halted since Jan 1st. N Irish shops can't even get basic produce and they're on the brink of physical violence to border check staff ala the Troubles. The US has stated that they will only make new trade agreements if we rejoin the Union. France and Spain have no intention of leaving the Union, you're thinking of Catalan because they want independence from Spain. Brexit is no better than a US state leaving their Union because they want slavery and guns.
I live in a city (Kingston Upon Hull) where one of the UK anti slave Member of Parliament lived, William Wilberforce. We have a very tall statue of him and a museum with the slave trade artifacts and history. Most schools in my era, 1960’s, visited the museum and we learnt some of this in history lessons and I believe this continues to this very day. Anti slave activities was very strong on Britain in the 1700’s and 1800’s which is being misrepresented or misunderstood by certain individuals. Scurvy by the was was one of the diseases that the Royal Navy suffered resulting from poor diet and living conditions onboard ship. Proud to be British..
when its pushed in lots of places you may believe it if you are young and gullible , although i do know some who have read stuff and said that things sound a bit far fetched ie the queen stealing children and that the rf are vampires and p.charles is a descendent of dracula , you know these ones are not the full shilling , thing with british tv is its a lot better than across the pond where they got fed a diet of soaps and adverts , we tend to know things about the rest of the world , i was told by someone the east had nuclear weapons long long before the west ,
It is a proud history (I’m British by the way), but it was not entirely altruistic - the slave trade, particularly in the West Indies, was no longer especially profitable, and the humanitarian movement gained sufficient power to overwhelm the interests of slavers - who were compensated financially for every slave freed by the British government (& its taxpayers of course) to ensure that the will of Parliament was enforced. I must admit that in my younger years in the 1960s, during the Civil Rights struggles in the US, I was particularly fascinated by the struggles in some of the southern US States which still practised and wanted to continue to practise segregation - Governor Wallace of Alabama was a particular hate figure at the time, But my parents, specially my father, reminded me that during WWII there was segregation amongst US troops stationed in Britain and that many/most people in Britain at the time found this both amazing & unacceptable, but as we were then fighting for survival as a nation we went along with this American practice out of necessity, but I understand many people in Britain at the time made a particular point of befriending ‘coloured’ American soldiers (as they were known then), despite the displeasure of the US military authorities here. That’s not to say of course that Britain then was entirely without fault in relation to its own colonies (India and large parts of Africa) but the discrimination then was mainly social, never in matters of basic human rights. In very recent years a law was passed here outlawing what is called “modern-day slavery”, basically people who are effectively indentured labour with little practical right to free themselves from their work conditions. This still occurs here and in various other countries (including in the US in the cases of at least some undocumented aliens, who are exploited as cheap labour with few or no rights), often as human-trafficking for prostitution or sweatshop labour and is rightly condemned and sanctioned whenever it comes to light.
The story of how Learie Constantine (West Indies Cricketer) had to leave his London hotel in 1944 due to the arrival of the US Army top-brass was particularly shocking. Learie was working for the BBC at the time. In the US army infirmation film made for GIs coming to the UK, the segregation issue is tackled head on. Its available on UA-cam, the one with Burgess Meredith and Bob Hope
I agree that it wasn't entirely altruistic but there's no dout that humanitarian altruism was the overwhelming driving force behind the abolutionist movement and to state that the trade was "no longer especially profitable" is complete and utter nonsense.
@@Codex7777 Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree here, the economics of the empire were beginning to change in the years running up to the rebellion in the American colonies & its eventual independence, so transportation of criminals, many mere petty criminals, there had to end, to be replaced conveniently enough by transportation to the then newly established colonies in Australia. The practical conditions of those transported were not so very different from those of indentured labour or slaves, but without the actual element of ownership, and in the case of those transported there was usually an end point where freedom could be achieved for those who managed to survive, It’s certainly true though that to enforce the new laws against slavery in the British Empire, slavers in British possessions in the Caribbean etc had to be compensated financially by the British government, and many slavers initially resisted freeing their slaves.
@@rsmith6366 well historically speaking slavery was the world works throught history many cultures have used slaves look at Rome and the Arab empires for example so people didnt think it was such a bad thing as we think of it today so it's considered a mistake for today's thinking but not for people back then
I live in Manchester 🇬🇧 and it is well known for its cotton mills. It is little known for the fact that the mills stopped the import of cotton from the slave plantation. There is a statue of Lincoln that he sent as a thank you for helping stop the slave trade. It stands in Lincoln square near Manchester town hall. 👍🏴🤠🇬🇧
Lincoln wrote a letter of thanks; the statue was designed by someone who was only two when the civil war ended and came to Manchester in 1919. Sidenote the northwest's cotton mills were used to destroy India's cotton industry when first printed cloth and the raw cloth was banned from export leaving India only able to export raw cotton to the mother country
What is it with english cities naming their town squares after other cities .w.
@@echiko4932 Lincoln Square was named after President Lincoln in response to the statue he bestowed to the City. 👍🇬🇧🏴🤠
@@pgbaines65 fair enough kek
Liar! Yorkshire is famous for textiles! I’ll fite you Manxer! 😋 …yes ok Yorkshire was famous for wool :P
Very true, this makes me so proud of our history, we had horrible patches like any nation, but we fought to abolished the African slave trade to our financial detriment, and the people were totally in favour of it. :)
It's not important that you didn't know this history before, I'm British AND from a Naval family and I didn't know it either.
What is important is that when your view was challenged, you did some research, and were open to changing your mind. That puts you head and shoulders above most other people. Keep doing what you are doing.
Well said.
Yes well said I completely echo your comments 👏
spot on
Yup. If this was taught in school I would of probably listened more.
@@JGS123WRPTP It was taught in school. It's been compulsory for the past 12 years. You should have listened more.
Unless you're too old I guess, in which case, well, we're teaching it now.
The whole saga of Britain’s crusade against the slave trade is one of my favourite historical events. Makes me feel a little more, dare I say, patriotic.
A man should love his country.
Good grief easy with the sentiment! 😂 ... Either I wasn’t paying attention or this was not taught in school. I’m finding we as a country have a lot to be proud of, in a British kind of way 😉 and you nailed it!
If there is a nation to love it is God's own England, its offspring nations and its surrounding gardens.
People focus on the war and bloodshed, but what kind of change happens without issues? *Looks at modern riots*
@@johnwade1095 people should be critical of their countries history, taking good with bad, and if after that they are proud, then the nation is a worthy one, and yes, I am proud 🇬🇧
Fun fact. The Royal Navy still patrols west Africa to this day in order to curb human trafficker's, stop drug runners and provide humanitarian aid to those in need. I'm damn proud
You should not be proud !, you should apologies for doing to this planet worse than the nazies , the british empire is a damn disgrace ..... England was built on slavery
@@mattmackay2973 who let you out
@@mattmackay2973 were are you from hmm
@@mattmackay2973 Long life the british Empire.
@@mattmackay2973 England was literally built on stopping the taking of slaves.
I'm from Malaysia. Back in the 18th century, when the British first set foot here, they noticed that the Sultans here used slavery and asked if they can stop there. The sultans attacked the British instead, because it challenged their tradition.
A lot of the reason why slavery ended around the world is because of the influence of the British naval power on world trade at the time. They didn't want to stop doing it, it's just they couldn't do anything about navy blockades and being pulled from trade because the British controlled all the sea trade.
@@MxMoondoggie Ironic that now nations assume it is the natural state of affairs. As they have with Bretton Woods.
whites in africa were hated because they stopped the trade in the west and east , sultan of oman
@@MxMoondoggie yes. One thing you should know about the British we will go through great lengths to fight evil and injustice in the world.
A Major in the early 19 hundreds, arrived in India and at the time the religious leaders would burn widows alive on top of the funeral Pyers of the recently dead Husband's, The Mayor spoke too the leaders. The Religious leaders said it's our right and custom, "He replied yes that's Fine, you can practice your Customs, but I will also practice my Customs from England, and in England we Hang people who set fire to innocent women! Let's say the custom soon stopped.
Thank you Sir. At a time when bashing Britain seems to be trendy you have highlighted a truly noble chapter in the history of that land . Eternal thanks .
My great-great grandfather, Joseph Richmond, served as an ordinary seaman in the African Squadron on HMS Falcon in 1861 on anti-slavery patrol during the US Civil War.
We Salute your ancestor Sir! He brings honour to your house and home.🇬🇧
That's amazing
Wow!
There was a movement in 18-19th century Britain for “slave free sugar” and other products labelled slave-free, to combat the slave trade by not buying products made by slaves, which feels very modern lmao. Keep it up man!
To this day Tate and Lille sugar is still the number one brand in away your supporting a company and family that had slaves
That's like saying anyone who supported Obama supports the slave trade lol. The slave trade is alive and well in Libya, the country that he destabilised with the help of the Democrat party,. Can buy yourself a slave for as little as twenty dollars, I guess Obama will get a free pass on that anyways
Just wondering what brand you use? And if you ask what brand is in your cup
@@mcnoface8000 And Ford used to make cars with wooden floors. So if you buy a Ford, you bought a car with a wooden floor?
The Quakers made anti-slavery a tenet of faith c1600, and their discovery of the living conditions of American slaves led to them resolving not to buy sugar from slave plantations in 1775. Influential Quakers included the Cadburys (chocolate makers), Lloyds and Barclays (bankers) and William Penn (whence Pennsylvania)
Wow, it’s really impressive to see someone admit that they were wrong with such pride. Very fucking cool man, great video :)
The thing about Britain is when we as a country do something good for a good course we dont shout about it .but when we do some bad nobody forgets it .
The curse of being so old I suppose, we have a very long history. The US for perspective isn't even 300 years old
The anti slavery law was passed due to middle class agitation, the vast majority of British people didn't really care about abolition because it had little visible effect on their lives. Neither did they have a say anyway.
But 99% of the British population didnt own slaves so why would it affect them ,but it just goes to show that people in power can put it to use for a good course .
So it like being a husband then?
I think the problem is that, for so much of our history, the opposite was true; we shouted about our good deeds/progress and ignored the negatives. This isn't specific to Britain, of course, and is essentially how every country approaches its own history. But people are rightly trying to redress that balance by pointing out that there WERE negatives, not just in British actions as a nation/empire but in the behaviours, actions and ideals of specific celebrated individuals.
In making these arguments, however, some people get swept up in essentially trying to 'prove people wrong' about being proud of British history. This isn't the right approach. We can be proud of our imperfect history just as we can be proud of, say, our imperfect family or friends. You don't have to pretend everything a loved one does and thinks is perfect just to be proud of them, and we don't have to pretend everything Britain has ever done is perfect either.
I think we're moving in the right direction, generally, and in a few generations I hope we'll have settled on a more balanced and nuanced view of British and world history. But yes, for now there are people obsessed with the wrongs that Britain has done to the world and others obsessed with the positives of Empire.
Even as a Brit I didn't realise how much impact we had. My history lessons only very briefly covered the Abolition of slavery. Obviously most of it was focused on what happened to slaves.
Such a proud part of our history should be taught in school's.
As far as I can see this has not been taught or mentioned in schools in fact there seems to have been a push to hide the facts in recent years. After the pulling down of the Edward Paulson statue I’d did a bit of digging into him and his involvement in the RAC ( royal African company that traded in slaves ) from 1682 to 1689 the majority of which as a minor way (.not sure but it looks like to me that some one used their shares in the company to float a loan then defaulted then he unloaded them as quickly as he could ) as for the RAC it was founded in 1660 and ceased operating in 1727 most of which it underperformed to the point it to be refinanced at least once to the point it triggered the worst financial crisis in the city of London for last three hundred years ( this is my suspicion of mine based on that King Charles the second pardoned Captain Kidd for his attempt to rob the Tower of London the year before I think he wasting to hide the fact that the Crown Jewels weren’t there as I suspect they had been used by his brother James to finance a war with the Dutch slave traders so he could monopolise it for himself and lost the year before
As a Brit I remember being taught about slavery in America but very little about how huge our role in it was. We don’t learn much about how many slaves Britain had in the Caribbean and how terrible it was. We just learn about a few token free black intellectuals and the white English abolitionists. Funny that
yeah ain't it ridiculous that I was taught in school about how ashamed we should be about our part in the slave trade but not how proud as a country we should be for almost singlehandedly stopping it globally
ridiculous
@@jameshead9119When i was at school back in the late 80's to the mid 90's it was almost never really touched on, which kind of does make us ignorant of our past and because of that we never really defended against it and just accepted it as it is. While i knew the UK tried to abolish it and enforce it upon other nations during the mid years of the slave trade.
I'm British and as far as I am concerned you apologized once you don't have to keep on doing it as nice as it is.
Well done sir.
Don't stress too much brits have "banter" they always come in heavy. Feelings come second to a point being made. Not personal mate. Keep up the good work. And God save the Queen :D
A spot on explanation fella.
We ARE a bit of a nation of pisstakers.
When me and mates meet up,its just a stream of insults and laughter,thats how we are.
God save the queen!
This ia a very good point!
@@TheCornishCockney exactly, Im a Northerner living darn saaf now and whenever I speak to new folk from elsewhere they get so confused as to whether to laugh or not when im taking the piss out of myself being a northerner or anything else I can take the piss out of, Quite funny.
That's true, the more we like you the harsher we talk to you lol!
The British empire has had may proud moments and many moments to be ashamed of. Like many countries that are this old, it has a chequered past.
80% good I'd guess. They saved you guys from the Mughal Turks, cut your taxes, and build schools, railroads, and hospitals,
We need grandparents and war veterans in our history classes.. our children should know the warts and all version of our great and sometimes terrible country.
@@jennyd126 as opposed to woke liars who paint it as all bad.
@Blaze Temp Amateurs. Mao managed more in 5
Seriously. People seem to forget that people nowadays die at around 80years of age and so a nation such as Britain will have had more than one leader in its thousand plus years of history.
As a Brit attending school in the 00's; we learned about slavery, we never learned about the abolitionists
Takes a man to admit they were wrong all is forgiven my friend 👍love from 🇬🇧
Agreed. Love from the UK.
They don't teach this because it clashes with their agenda...
They didn't teach it before political correctness became a thing either.
@@RevStickleback I learned it in high school (in the US) - 25 years ago but there you have it. We didn't learn about it in this level of detail but we did talk about the general timeline of the abolition of slavery beginning in the colonial era.
@@RevStickleback Can’t speak for anyone else but I learned about slavery (and the Britain Empire’s subsequent efforts to globally abolish it) in a bog standard British comprehensive school way back in the 1990’s.
Admittedly we weren’t compelled to hate our history and indeed ourselves then as much as now though...
there is a generation here in the States that think slavery started and ended here and the remainder of the earth was pure. this isn't know for a reason and it started a long time before the term political correctness.
@@chipsfalling8625 it's much the same in the UK.
My youngest step - daughter (17) was outraged last year when I told her that other countries traded in slaves before we got involved, at the same time as we were involved and never stopped trading in slaves.
I'm surprised he managed to say so much about abolition without mentioning William Wilberforce. We were taught that he was one of the main driving forces getting the anti-slavery laws through Parliament.
Yeah and olijah equiano (that’s defo not how to spell his name but still)
@@remaculous7900 Olaudah! - but great work with the surname. :)
@Suðringa o Possibly its because Liverpool, like Bristol and even London was built on the blood of slaves, in fact leading the trade by the 1740's to the extent that an actor booed off the stage of a Town theatre retorted "I have not come here to be insulted by a set of wretches, every brick in whose infernal town is cemented with an African’s blood. "
Hull wasn't involved in the slave trade, largely due to a Puritan and somewhat Evangelical history dating back before the Civil War, even though its ships did trade across the world, not just over the North Sea. Wilberforce was hugely influential in the abolition, being a great friend of Pitt and whilst as one might expect of a Tory of his era he was fairly authoritarian in other ways, supporting the Combination Acts for example, its silly to denigrate his contribution on the abolition of Slavery. There are very good reasons why his is still, 200 years later, by far the largest public monument in Hull.
@@col8547 " Puritan and somewhat Evangelical history" and that's why it is denigrated
do some research, does he really deserve that much recognition as an individual? he contributed to bringing the arguement to parliment, but wasnt the driving force.
I feel ashamed I had to learn all this from an American. You made me proud to be British again. Thank you. Great video!
Just know the reason you didn't know is because they didn't *want* you to know.
We're not perfect (Opium Wars...), but we've done a lot of good in the world and have created so much as a society that we have given to the world.
There is every reason to feel proud of our cultural heritage! That is why evil people *want* you to feel bad about it.
For more Sargon (Carl), try lotuseaters.com.
@@edwardcullen1739 I don’t know what age you are but I was taught this at School! So who was it that didn’t want me to know?
You should be more ashamed of our current British education system and its woke, race baiting, gender bending agenda.
@Jo Sm The stinking half Commies who run the British education system aren't interested in the truth. Just in brainwashing. As a soon to be dad I worry for our future.
@Jo Sm It's too late. I'm only 41 yet I don't even recognise my country any more from when I was a kid. You can't crack a joke, you can't speak your mind. You have to watch your country going down the toilet. You have to shut up and accept becoming a minority in your own country ! Britain is dead. No coming back . Stop dreaming.
Dude, you're so humble. Thanks for such a genuine apology. But you really don't need to apologise, your actions and readiness to learn what you don't know read volumes to me👍❤
Luckily I went to school in the 50’s and 60’s and we were taught about the slavery abolition act 1883
It's a shame the woke lefties who are educating are kids these days didn't read a few books!
It’s still on the national syllabus today, but rather than focusing on William Wilberforce as we were taught it, it includes a lot of other protagonists and includes the slave revolts and people helping slaves to escape (bit like the resistance risking their lives to help people escape the Nazis in WWII).
Mate, ignore people 😂 they literally probably barely know anything about British history without googling it ! You make good videos that are fun to watch, keep doing what your doing
@Christopher Cressey exactly
@bmhiscd1 He's actually more left than right.
I agree with you but I'm triggered that you used the words literally and probably in the same sentence.
@@jackthehat1093 I literally probably don’t care
Thanks, man!
no one talks about this because a lot of people want to portray us as racists that hate everyone which is not true, also good video!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Britain#:~:text=Most%20modern%20historians%20generally%20agree,especially%20in%20the%20Caribbean%20colonies.
@@corydorastube over 900 years ago.....
@@anfi7447 By the mid 18th century, London had the largest African population in Britain, made up of free and enslaved people, as well as many runaways. The total number may have been about 10,000.[36] Owners of African slaves in England would advertise slave-sales and rewards for the recapture of runaways.[37][38]
And Meghan Markle shouting we are racists shamefull
@@corydorastube Wikipedia is not a trustworthy source of information
This brought tears to my eyes I have never felt so proud to be a Brit.
More work should go in to teaching people about this. Obviously Brits did some very bad things before. But this is one the most moral things Britain ever did. Its a travesty that the people who ended slavery are remembered as racist brits. There are no documentaries about this period, no movies. Any movie makers reading this?? Please make a movie or a documentary. Raise awareness.
@@markmorris7123 Yes amazing wasn't it. I'm afraid in the current political climate, so much received 'wisdom' about the history of the trans-atlantic slave trade and modern race relations in the west, is driven by emotion resulting from a limited understanding of the actual facts of what happened. There are an increasing number of books being written on the subject 'The Royal Navy Verses the Slave Trade' is very good, but the only time I am aware of it being touched upon in film was in 'Amisted' (1997), especially towards the end of the film.
This was indeed one of the most chivalrous and proud endeavours in human history, and should be more widely taught. However, I believe it should also be seen against the backdrop of both what went before in terms of British (and others) involvement in the slave trade and the subsequent legacy of racism and discrimination, and how it is perceived to still effect both the Black communities and individuals in countries such as the USA and UK.
Don't worry mate, the BBC will soon put a stop to that (bastards)!
@@ghostdancer444 I completely agree. It's fine to teach the bad stuff as we can learn from it,, but they shouldn't just leave out stuff which is also 100percent factual. I learned alot about this period recently. The British navy even gave a ship to black Africans consisting mainly from the Ivory Coast and employed their crew to help with the fight. They became part of the West African Squadron. So this could be something that Brits and Africans could celebrate together. They actually teach about this in a school in "Freetown Sierra Leone".its a very uplifting part of history
During the American Civil War, the workers and mill owners of northern england refused buy American cotton for spinning and processing at great cost and hardship to themselves. This was a bottom-up protest not initially backed by the government.
Negative comments!?
Ignore them. Don't be sorry for not knowing anything and everything in the world across all time.
It's good that you decide to learn and if you can make a living off this, even better.
I'm from England and never knew William the conq was also known as William the bastard. The irony is not lost on me! Negative shmegative. You channel is worth the watch so ignore the negative comments.
i totally agree, as the saying goes "the first step to knowledge is always ignorance" and there is certainly no shame in that.
It's not his fault, it's the fault of his countries woeful and insular education system.
If it doesn't include America in it, then history might as well not exist.
I doubt they teach anything about WW2 before Pearl Harbour either.
@@sandersson2813 That would explain why the USA thinks they single handily won the war, the deciding factor.
@@VViIIiam if you've ever been to America and watched the news it doesn't contain anything about the world outside their borders.
You really have to try hard to find it.
Whats scary is this will probably never be taught again in UK schools...
I was taught alot of this in like yr7 and 8
@@johnhalliday3019 I only did ww1 and ww2 throughout high school, but i'd guess it depends on the teacher
It wasn't taught in the first place. :-P
I learned about the Atlantic slave trade and the triangle trade of Africa-US-Britain.
@@Ilixie to be fair although we did cover alot of this most of it was only lightly brushed on
it used to be taught as the religious were very proud to boast they did it, but now its all about grades and not upsetting the WOKE/PC culture. and not surprisingly slavery has returned to the UK.
I've followed Sargon for years, he's a good egg and a proud Anglo. Also an interesting fact to tie all of this to modern history, in 2014 England finally paid back the last of the loans that they took out in order to end the slave trade back in the 1800's.
It was the UK that ended Slavery,But of course you would have to be English to ignore that fact.
@@seanoreilly7293 If you listened to the full video from Sargon, you would find out that slavery was first abolished by William the Conqueror shortly after he took the crown in 1066. William was King of England, not the UK (England did not conquer Ireland for another 100 years or so and Wales about 100 years after that). OK the outlawing of slavery only applied within the realm of England and in due course the UK. If a slave was brought to the UK they automatically became a free man, however the North Atlantic Slave Trade never brought slaves back to the UK, they were always taken direct to the 'customer lands'. The British ships engaged in this trade only returned to the UK with the goods and wealth that they had obtained from the sale of the slaves, before heading off again to West Africa to load up again with more slaves, bought from the locals that had captured them in the first place. Thus England was the first country to outlaw slavery in its own land. From the early 1800's (only about 100 years after Scotland joined the UK) the UK set about abolishing slavery in its empire, colonies and eventually forcing this policy on the rest of the world.
@@EnorMouseUK Pray tell, who were the tax payers in 2014... were they only English, or were they British?
@@peacemaker6662 Interesting question. I suppose that you are talking about paying off the debt incurred by abolition. To save a long argument as to where net taxation is raised, I am willing to accept that these were costs paid out by the British Exchequer. This does not change the fact that it was England which was the first country to outlaw slavery in its own land, all be it that that is only because England got conquered before the other countries that ended up making up Great Britain.
@@EnorMouseUK Does it not matter where the money came from? Englands debt became Britains debt when we became a nation, or do I have that wrong?
Takes a real man to admit when he’s wrong. Well done my friend. From England
I'm a proud Brit and its nice you've apologised but its no big deal I'm sure i mess up some parts of your history
Wholeheartedly agree 👍
Vast majority of "proud" Brits have no idea of their own history either, in fairness.
@Jo Sm it happens everywhere, but history is currently being rewritten. There is a massive complaint about the white washing of British history, but how many black sailors do you think there were at Trafalgar, yet there is a black sailor commemorated on Nelson's column, his efforts, achievements and his place in history firmly established on an outstanding monument. Doesn't stop the statue bashers from calling for the removal of the column "because it depicts a slave", no slaves in the Royal Navy (though at one point many seaman were shanghaied).
The full story of the Potato Famine has been manipulated to look like something the British enacted on the Irish (at the time the Irish were British).
And the crofter evictions in Scotland are painted as the fault of the English, when it was more the fault of the clan leaders.
Imagine actually being proud to be British lmao
Im not British im scottish and part of Europe, but not British and certainly not proud of our colonial imperial history
@Jo Sm I was more referring to the mass genocides and thefts that went on all around the world as part and parcel of colonialisation. If you want to talk about irish history, I would argue for about 200 years, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. It was literally the same country as Britain and not knowing what went on during that time is blissful ignorance rather that somebody studiously researching what happened during that period.
You are very respectful, Im English and Im learning along with you.! Well done young man - Best wishes from England.
GCSE, A-level and a degree in history and I only knew the basic facts about Britain's involvement in the ablution of the slave trade. I know more about Britain's involvement but this was interesting and worth looking into in greater depth. Thank you.
I'm Irish and I knew from child hood the vikings sailed in to Irish ports hundreds of years ago and took human cargo mostly women it's gone on from the beginning of time
"Britain's involvement in the ablution of the slave trade."
Yes. We really cleaned it up ;-)
@@virtualatheist it's a sad fact of life but people will take advantage of other people for their own advantage weather that is for s e X money or just for a power trip very sad
Did you not do Pitt to Peel? It's l in there.
I left secondary school in the early 1960s age 15 with no qualification, There is no excuse for the individual not to go into a book shop or library and read British History , I am still surprised that people say I never knew that on history who have been well educated on the subject, I worked at the National Archives for some years I never found in later years those with a A-level or degree for history that knowledgeable on the subject, For 60 years there is not a week that goes by that I will not read or watch some history on TV or Computer, I knew about the British Royal Navy involvement in the slave trade way back in the late 1950s at school.
This should be taught in every British and American schools
world-wide
Can't have that! People would be proud of their country so it wouldn't be as easy to erase their history
It's a mandatory module for any GCSE history student in the UK. It's taught to every student who chooses History and most schools offer it pre-GCSE too.
@@dylancavill1921 They teach the slave trade and abolitionism in the UK, each student was taught it. If you don't remember you've simply forgot.
@@calum5975 They teach the slave trade but when i was at school ten years ago they told us that we were responsible for it and it was only due to the exploitation of Africa that we had an industrial revolution. it was only later when I joined the sea cadets did I learn about the Royal Navy's insolvent in it's abolition and the role it plays today in upholding law at sea.
And did you know that the hymn “Amazing Grace” was written by a British ex-slave ship captain to atone for his previous life .........in the words of Micheal Caine ,.... “not a lot of people know that” 😂
I did not! That is a beautiful hymn, I am going to have to listen to it again with that perspective.
@@midwestamericans3806 Another cool fact about Amazing Grace is that it was set to the musical tune 'New Britain'. which now famously remains it's accompaniment
Yes I did know that! The only thing that surprises me is that the bleeding heart apologists who like to go around destroying our historical statues haven't demanded that the hymn should be banned because of the author's former connection!
To answer the question in your caption: because it doesn't fit the present-day narrative. If it weren't for the British Empire, let's just say the world would be a very different place to what it is now.
Aint that the truth.
Talk about stating the bleeding obvious! Hopefully, the present day narrative is about the analysis of all aspects of slave trade practices from both the victim's and the beneficiaries' viewpoint. Yes, Britain was at the forefront of abolition but it should also be remembered that British slave owning companies insisted on being compensated by the taxpayer for the loss of their "commodities" to such an extent that the sum was only overtaken by the British Govt's. propping up of the banking system during the 2007 crash.
So Britian had a large history in the spread of slavery in the American colonies and the Caribbean. In fact 1670s slaves sold by the Royal African company were branded with DY for the Duke of York. In fact an article from the British library details some of the involvement www.bl.uk/restoration-18th-century-literature/articles/britains-involvement-with-new-world-slavery-and-the-transatlantic-slave-trade. Much like America, Britian managed to see the errors of slavery and all the harm it caused, but it took time to do so and correct it. If slavery wasnt a major part of colonization and expansion there would have definitely been a hell of alot less harm done. Lessons learned by suffering and even bloodshed to end the practice. But focusing only on one part of that history leaves out to many details of why and how.
@Jo Sm last I looked the Southern colonies were pro slave so not much resistance there, many of the Northern colonies added no slavery, all are free clauses to state constitutions after the revolution. But pre revolutionary war no we were governed by appointed governors by the King we followed the laws they enacted, the same king Charles 2 and his brother James Duke of York. The 2 same brothers who were in control of Royal Africa Company from 1660. Who from 1660 to 1713 imported to the Caribbean and the Americas 100,000 black slaves in fact many were branded with DY for Duke of York. Yes it took blood and tears to end slavery in America, and it continued after we became a nation. The Civil war is still our biggest loss of life, no war has surpassed it yet. Yes Britian allowed slavery into its American colonies and even profited by doing so as America profited by allowing it to continue. Sometimes it takes awhile for good people to become powerful enough to change even through force harmful horrible laws or practices and both country's finally did so. Both Nations have the bloody stain left from slavery, and both Nations have consistently fought against once they finally woke up and stopped dealing in it and allowing it to prosper. But the legacy of the past is still our history.
@Jo Sm point one slavery came to America via the British it came to the colonies in the same way the Irish indentured servants did thru the British government who removed them from their lands and its Companies, for your edification Jefferson, and Washington owned slaves as did many of the founders long before the revolutiony war when we were still British owned. Vermont was the fourteenth state to join the United States. Never allowed slaves and was a big underground railroad stopping point. They also supplied men for the Union army many town parks have monuments with every soldiers name from the area including my relatives. The Southern colonies had slaves most Northern colonies did not. As to a rant exactly what wasnt factual, was it the history of the Royal Africa Company selling slaves or that the Royal was because it's the way King Charles made money from his company. How about the fact Slavery was established and used long before Americas rebellion and the fact slavery stayed until 1860 with the civil war both true facts. Another true fact the civil war is our highest life costing war to this day.
You now feel our pain when others lable our history as evil and there is so many more history events similar to this. Good video!
The point is that we still reap the benefits from collonialism and then deny it. If we present a Xenophobic front to the world then what can we expect. We harassed other countries within living memory, but house war refugees in ghettos because they're brown. Bit of a double standard.
@@rsmith6366 House them in ghettos? Are you sure they aren't the ones responsible for making them ghettos? Also do you suggest we house these people in the most well off areas when we have over 300,000 homegrown homeless?
@@sniffyjoe4229 We should house all homeless people. We have the money and the houses to do so. Nobody needs two homes, we should build affordable homes for all people and only then consider building mansions for the mega wealthy cunts.
@@Esafc-lb2sg That's a very naive outlook on the homelessness issue.
@@tehmunkds We should house the homeless is naive?
This is the first of your videos I have watched and, as a proud Brit, I'll be watching some more! Having the grace to admit when you're wrong is what sorts out the men from the boys!!🏴🇬🇧
It's just one of the many reasons Britons are proud and protective about our long long history
Yep
We used to have much pride in our history but as this is no longer taught in schools or college / university anymore so kids these days have no idea about these parts of our history and they just believe the awful retoric they have been told and taught by Communist/ Marxist teachers who want to overthrow our democracy in favour of bringing in socialism/ Communism/ Marxism they aren't taught that in the countries that have tried these there have been over 100 million deaths because of it and it's not all free and fair like they are being told. We need to go back to teaching proper hIstory not all this decolonising of history which is hand picked and ebforces their narrative.
@@louisecook6483 ok ok....chill out
I don't know why, but you kept on popping up in my feeds. I thought "Oh, another reaction to the UK" of which there are many. It seems though that you have a genuine interest. I have lived outside of the UK (although I have come back now) for half of my 60 years and at times I have been held personally responsible for acts committed hundreds of years ago, to which I replied "See you in court". In these times of global difficulty yours is a rare curiosity which as a Brit I find flattering. Liked and subscribed.
Thanks for the support! You guys have a very long but interesting history!
I am English and I have never heard this before, saying that, It's definitely a British thing to do #Proud
Hey man. I’m British and I didn’t know half of the stuff in this video until I saw your reaction video. Thanks for the content.
Thanks for watching!
Absolutely scandalous that schools do not teach this in schools
Because of the War of Independence the British Empire has often been portrayed in US history as this huge "Bogy Man" and that image still persists today, just look at how many films from Hollywood have the main villains have English accents. Yes we the British are far from totally innocent but not "Evil" as some have made us out to be.
The British people as a whole understand that slavery was dealt with (by us) 200 years ago. It's only pursued by those with an axe to grind and those that see an opportunity to cash in. The slaves referred to in the Domesday book were not foreigners drafted in, they were British subjects that worked for board and lodgings and not money, at a time when money was in it's infancy.
Brilliant video mate,
Sad to hear you've had negativity, you can never know everything, that's why you are taking your time to learn. Anyone that cant see that isn't worth worrying about. Great channel, keep up the good vids! :)
Not only that, when the UK banned Slavery Worldwide in 1833, the British Government took out a loan equivalent to 40% of UK GDP to pay Slave Owners within the British Empire to free their slaves.
The British Tax Payer continued to pay off this loan until 2015, when the final payment was made to the Banks.
So British alive today, paid to end Slavery Worldwide, and I personally paid taxes for 35 years to end Slavery, so you can imagine why there were so many negative comments, and why we take exception to being labelled with 'White Privilege' here in the UK.
History says different.
and they say thank you by trying to erase our history and destroy our culture
What culture is being destroyed?
@@claytonmarkmccarthy2593 could start with the toppling of historical statues and renaming roads and buildings because some choose to be offended
@@brucemcdonald4372 Statues are objects, they are objects paid for by individuals, or their progeny, to celebrate/condone their actions. Hardly culture when they don't influence anything outside their local area.
Also, 'they' aren't toppling statues. 'We' are. The British. Just like 'we' pushed to end the slave trade.
@@claytonmarkmccarthy2593 doesn't matter how you dress it...being welcomed into another society and then setting out to destroy it over historical greivensess is wrong in this day and age and being supported/encouraged by the left is disgusting....personally I think most of those complaining about British history don't know it....we could do with someone in charge with abit more bkbone
the ignorance of the young, living a life of plenty without knowing their past, is the saddest endeavour of modern times, the real truth of our past is hidden under layers of misguided stupidity. The British young should be proud to be British, but instead, their ignorance clouds their emotions only resulting in their ever-growing naivety.
Most people do not understand that slavery was the norm throughout the world. The Vikings were slave traders as were the Romans before them. Though the Vikings took slaves from what is now the UK, in raids, there were slaves in the UK until the Norman Conquest 1066 changed things. The USA concentrates solely on the slave triangle as if that was the full story.
There have been recent objections, based on BLM, to the line in "Rule Britannia" that says "Britons never never never shall be slaves." The song takes a different, more positive, interpretation in the light of this video.
A further and long forgotten slave trade was that of Europeans who between the 1500s and early 1800s were sold in the markets of North Africa. Barbary Pirates would attack merchant ships and then sell passengers and crew. They would also land along the British coast and take whole villages. Cornwall with it’s remote fishing villages suffered badly. In one account I’ve read a whole village of 240 men women and children were taken overnight. Between the dates above, one to two million people were taken. Men sold as labourers and women as concubines. This was the origin of the song Rule Britannia as the Royal Navy fought to protect people from capture.
Roman took anyone as slaves any land they conquered they would take slaves they took alot from Britain
pretty sure that slavery back in those days would have been very useful because things like farming, building and other labor intensive jobs would be very common and with the lack of modern machinery slaves would have been the cheapest and most effective source of labor. slavery is literally the very foundation through which civilizations are built
@@huggableteddybearxd9735 The Romans actively suppressed mechanisation to ensure full employment of slaves.
As a side note slave is derived from Slav as the Romans sourced a lot of slaves from the Russian steppe.
Interestingly there is a huge DNA connection between Yorkshire and Iceland because of the Danish Vikings raiding, stealing women and shipping them off to help populate the island a thousand years ago!
I served my nation 20 years ago, but not massively patriotic, however when he put the union Jack up and said it sands for freedom etc.. I got a touch of goose bumps.
However in the early 90s we did learn this in about 3rd year history. I can recall romans, ww1 & 2, and the triangle slave trade.
One thing I do recall is when a British ship approached the slavers, they would jettison the slaves
@HMS Hood I know that, it doesn't mean it didn't happen. The slavers wasn't the most moral of folk.
Nice name
Something else to learn. The Union Jack is a naval flag. To represent the country it is called the Union Flag. I only found this out a short while ago.
@@legend9335 it would better represent the union if there was a red dragon in the corner. Wales is not recognised on the union flag. Only N. Ireland, Scotland and England. 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
the loans to pay off the slave owners was taken out in 1833 ,it was finally paid off in 2015 , at the time it was a loan equal to 40 percent of the national budget
I was born in Hull, we were taught about abolition and the role of William Wilberforce MP for Hull.
The entire argument and debate is still there on Hansard records.
England has given far more than she ever took.
No-one outside of England will ever admit that, though.
@@Otherdave008 It's a bit hard to admit that if you genuinely live in those places. You can't blame Indians for disliking what Britain's role in their history. People go on about bringing them western culture, democracy and technology, but never mention the sinking of the Indian GDP thanks to colonisation or the horrific acts carried out. History isn't black and white, and we can't expect people to just forget the bad because we did a few good things here and there.
If we want to be admired for the good parts of our history, of which there are many, we have to acknowledge the bad too.
For every railroad we built, every hospital and school set up, and parliament we inspired, we built Kenyan Concentration Camps, defranchised French Quebecois and negligently caused a famine in Bengal that killed millions.
Apart from the former Dominions, they were treated as possessions to be used. We never pretended otherwise. We gave India up as soon as it became unprofitable, same story in Africa. 'Enlightening' them was just a mask to give it some sort of moral standing.
@@calum5975 Well said, I agree with you.
@@calum5975
Well now they have a comparison, how's Islam or communism doing for these countries ?
Most Indians I know have great respect for Britain, more so than today's indigenous young.
What was evil is now mostly history and yet what is good still remains.
@@MAX-tw3qz I agree, modern Britain isn't a reflection of our past, and our historic transgressions do not define us, but that doesn't mean we haven't done terrible things, and it doesn't mean grudges cannot be held.
If we want countries to thank us for the good we have done, we can't then moan when countries care to remind us of the bad we have done. If you want to argue we gave more than we took, don't shrug off what we took.
As for the point about young people; being ashamed of certain aspects of our history doesn't mean they do not respect Britain. Being ignorant and pretending our history is all roses is not respect, it's ignorance, respect is understanding our history and our present, and the youth today are simply better educated in history than ever before thanks to the opening of university to more people.
The Islam and communism bit is completely irrelevant, not a single British former colony has ever practised communism, and a select few are Muslim. Nice strawman. The fact you raised that as a point shows what shapes your worldview, and it probably isn't a decent education on this topic.
Thank you for making this video. This element of british history is far too often ignored, or hidden in order to benefit other political purposes, especially in the modern world. You should not be sorry for your prior comments, since those were made with the information you had been (incorrectly) fed from your own education prior to the discovery of the truth. A lot of people will benefit from viewing this video.
A Brit here. Thank you for highlighting this and please do not take these negative comments to heart!!! Appreciate the fact that someone is actually trying to state real facts instead of the myths and fake narratives that so many want to spread about the British and slavery!!! Bows!!!
I'm British and didn't know half of this. Top channel matey, I'm learning myself, top respect.
The true half, or the jingoistic claptrap half?
Them that name you with word-coinage - literally own you! ......The word: "Slave" ... was and is a violently inconvenient demeaning volatile word that had outlived it's usefulness inside a pecking order basically feudal system because it invited dissent. In many cases in our history the words apprentice subject tenant employee even soldier etc supplanted it ....because they were just as effective in demeaning and manipulating people without being so obviously volatile... My father's humane trade name when he was a young man was deliberately demoted during his lifetime. It was deliberately changed from the title -word : "Collier" downwards to that of the subject-word: "Miner!"
The Market in The City of London used it's tool The London Press to debase and devalue people and trades by simply changing words.... A vital fact of life is that the more words that are utilised to de...scribe and divide classes and groups of people the more invisible and vulnerable to societal abuse and manipulation by The Establishment they become! The word that entitles me to my own true Nationality is denied to me deliberately. England is not recognised by any othe Country in the World as being a Country I am refused my own nationality and nationhood by the Capital City that openly and falsely claims to represent me? Why be british for thieves....
@@englishpassport6590 Personally do not think our Capital City represents any of us fairly, looking at the broader view. We can all manipulate facts for are own personal agendas. It is such a shame in this day anybody should be treated the way many of us are! unfortunately do not see that changing unless we stop being so narrow minded and work together in a civil way. None of us are indigenous to this country and the world hasn’t learnt anything from history.
@@ghostship8885 "US "... "We" .."Our".... such as you presume too much of I ...."We-Us-Our-Is " ..up! Why identify ...with you creatures in any way shape or form ..... your'e beneath contempt ......
@@englishpassport6590 When you have grown up and learnt some matters and a moral compass,finished education about history. Then I will have a Adult conversation with you until then you will be ignored from now on. Typical childish response!!!
There have always been people of African heritage, visiting and living in Britain since Phoenician times. In Elizabethan times when Privateer ships challenged mainly Spanish ships, any enclosed African people were given the option of working their way to England or Wales, as free women and men, with the proviso that they at least notionally accept the Protestant Faith. Black communities built up in London and other cities, with much intermarriage with the white/indigenous population
All of UK's cities will be African soon enough lol.
The UK is even now the country with the highest per capita number of inter-racial marriages.
@@nicktecky55 I know, it's not good news. Interracial marriages can be very dangerous.
@@wimschmied3800 Explain why?
@@krashd In some countries (such as UK/Europe) are experiencing low birthrates and declining populations, if too many people have interracial relationships eventually the line between the two races would be blurred and there would be extreme damage in national security and the future of many cultures. Interracial marriages are much more likely to result in divorce, especially if it involves a black male.
I have never been this proud to be British
It's not a big deal that you messed up and I am happy that you apologised but everyone will never know everything. Don't bother with rude comments even if you make a mistake.
Canadian here. Supposedly we are the most educated nation in the world. AND THIS WAS NEWS TO ME!!! I was under the impression that it was Denmark that first outlawed slavery. Well, I'm as blown away as you are. I really enjoyed this video. I'm probably going to stop by more often.
Dane here :) We were but are also insignificant lol and the Brits did go the whole way first. Originally Denmark outlawed it in 958 and then again in 1793 (went live in 1803) but we continued having slaves in the Danish Virgin Islands (now US Virgin Islands..) up until around 1850 - and to add insult, when we sold the Virgin Islands we sold the population down the river too..
Your guys not about due a Snaps? Before someone starts leaving Stoli[chnaya] for both of us lol
The Danes dont count. They kinda brought it back and then got rid of it then bought it back so theres a dispute there. Plus they only did it their own country not the world like Britian did which is why its not around today. God bless our wise ancestors
@@rickybuhl3176 I've always wondered why those bottles don't explode with the freezing insides. Like I know that its basically anti-freeze but we're talking Canadian cold here. Not Baltic Sea seasons.
@@Heartdrive Well, yes and no - we didn't bring it back any more than the British, who originally outlawed it 100 years after us when William The -Bastard- Conqueror arrived. The laws made back at the turn of the millennium just hadn't allowed for the later Christians trying to worm out of it by saying that heathens were kosher for the trade, the Pope dividing the world up and all that preaching/colonizing. The second wave of abolitions had a number of countries involved but none of the rest of us had the authority that Britain did, neither did Britain for a century or more - once they'd beaten Napoleon a couple of times and acquired Frances territories, then they were in a position to enforce rather than just enact, as the rest of us had. Realistically - that was the first time anyone had been able to enact that type of thing on a global scale and be able to give a good punt at backing it up. The Enlightenment was a necessary step, as was Adam Smith's work. Denmark has a population less than London, we're not gonna be able to enforce anything on the same scale, the effect simply isn't the same. Only way we can affect that many people is with cartoons.. Britain was able to do something pretty bloody epic but claiming they outlawed slavery throughout the world is obviously over-stating the fact - with some nations only abolishing it in the 20th century and conservative estimates putting illegal slavery at higher numbers than at any point in human history, as a result of growing populations, I wouldn't say it's the most heavily enforced law outside of our own interested territories.. Similar to the Bible 'the world' then didn't mean what it does now.
@@rickybuhl3176 I wonder if there is a link between the Danes in 958 and William's declaration in the UK (at least culturally). Denmark and Normandy were both Viking controlled if I recall
Good video, it's worth pointing out that even before the Civil War the US navy was also sending out patrols to the Atlantic and West African coast to stop slave ships. They also sent USN ships into the Mediterranean to fight the Islamic slave raiders, as the Royal Navy had done on and off since the 17th century.
Honesty is a admirable quality. The fact that you want to learn, is important and I take my hat off to you.
Really respect anybody who can admit when they’re wrong. It means that they are interested in the truth. Good man
The politicians who pushed for antislavery were generally always against it. Opinion in government only changed when new politicians came in with new ideals. No one's mind was changed, they just replaced the deck with new cards.
I was never taught this in school, in my homeland of Scotland. And fuck sake this should have been bloody taught. This is something to utterly be proud of. And the reason its not, is it praises Britain. A Heresy and Treachery that can only be repaid with scorn. Cause I'm more proud to be British and have heritage like this. Than any thrust upon me by others. Cause they say so.
Scottish by birth, British by birthright.
The agenda is to destroy the UK as a symbolic victory for The Left.
Scotland was VERY different prior to devolution, and the rise of the SNP in the mid 2000's....not only different, BETTER.
@@scottishnarrator1776 um... in school now very much taught this between the genocides in the British empire and American slavery/ segregation.
I was taught about the slave trade and the Abolition Movement when I was at school in Scotland back in the 1960s and 1970s. It was mentioned in both history and geography classes. I even knew about the court case for freeing Joseph Knight in 1774. He had been brought to Scotland by his master Wedderburn. Ordinary Scots people stood up for Joseph and he won his case against Wedderburn. I don't know when or where you went to school, but you can't say this is not taught in Scotland just because you never heard about it.
I don’t know if it is covered in the wider video, but one of the leading abolitionists was my fellow Yorkshireman William Wilberforce. Sadly although he campaigned to abolish slavery for years I believe he died the day before the abolition was passed into law.
You should, with regard to The West Africa squadron check out the exploits of ‘The Black Joke’ a captured slaver pressed into service by the Royal Navy that went after other slave ships with the West Africa Squadron in a distinguished career.
Don’t let the negative comments sway you from increasing and developing your knowledge. That is never a bad thing and is to be applauded.
Yorkshire Day is held on 1st August, partly to recognise the efforts of William Wilberforce as 1st Aug 1834 is the emancipation anniversary. (fellow Yorkie here)
@@deadcatthinks6725 Good to know and glad he is one of ‘ours’!
My parents were born in Kingston upon Hull, the birth place of abolitionist William Wilberforce. He died on 29th July 1833 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. One month later, the House of Lords passed the Slavery Abolition Act which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire by August 1834.
This law commenced on 1st August 1834, exactly one hundred years before my mother was born. This date later became Yorkshire Day.
Furthermore, my mother's 2nd cousin, 4x removed was an American born man named Colonel Pren Metham (1830 - 1917) who was a farmer in Ohio. He was also a founder member of the Republican Party in the 1850s who were opposed to the Confederate "slave states" in the south joining the Union States, which led to the American Civil War. He became Captain, 2nd Lieutenant and mustering officer for Company F, 80th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry and fought in the American Civil War as a Union soldier which led to the abolition of slavery in the USA. He also witnessed the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln (the Republicans first President) in 1865 and was the first man to jump onto the stage in pursuit of John Wilkes Booth.
He was named after his father, grandfather and great grandfather (the latter was my 7x great grandfather). All three men were British and all of them were born in Lincoln in the county of Lincolnshire.
So England/Britain also played a part in the abolition of slavery in the United States.
One of the Greatest Englishmen. And he instigated what was to become , the RSPCA. God bless Hull.
Sargon knows his stuff so you can pretty much take what he says as spot on.
That guy's a massive right-wing troll. It's best to ignore anything he says as, if he DOES get something right, it's probably by accident. It's best to use other sources and not someone with a history of distortion and lies.
Apart from anything you can't just look at slavery. It has to be placed into a wider context of empire and colonialism but also oppression of the British working class at home.
@@codgemeister1whatever you think of Sargon he's always pretty accurate with his history - he's well educated and takes his time in research. The fact that he can upset the whoppers that accuse him of being all kinds is even better - he has a sense of humour.
@@codgemeister1 the truth is the truth, no matter who speaks it. but WE all know FACTS dont matter to leftists, it doesnt fit with their ideology or narrative. and my taxes help pay off the slavers. did yours?
@@codgemeister1 Huh, that's funny - because when somebody's opening criticism of a person is that they're a "massive right-wing troll" that's an excellent indication that the person making the criticism is a perpetually indignant lefty with 'a history of distortion and lies' and its best to ignore them and form your own opinion on the subject of their critique.
Could you name some more people you deem to be massive right wing trolls? I've been getting through a lot of YT content since lockdown started and I could do with subscribing to more good content creators.
@@victormuckleston Sargon has taken MASSIVE liberties with the truth on many occasions. He's right on this one but let's not make this a left vs right pissing contest.
I genuinely think this was the best reaction to this I've ever seen. And the fact that at least half was removed...Classy work tbh
Took balls to upload this. Well done and keep up the good work!
Mark of a real man is admitting one can be wrong. There is no shame in it. Well done Sir.
"... to learn exactly what Engl ... err, sorry ... what Britain did to end the slave trade."
👍🏻 respect.
They only finished paying back the money borrowed to finance this project a couple of years ago
Yes...true that...
2015 was when it was finished getting paid off.
@@jonnyhh123 incorrect. That was for WW2
@@sylvesterdefoe Britain's final payment for WW2 loans was in 2006.
When slavery was abolished, the British government had to buy out the British slave owners. As a result they paid a sum that had not been matched in peace time untill the bank bailouts in 2009!
This debt was only finally paid off in 2010s.
(Though I might add that the money went to the slave owners and not the slaves themselves. Not a judgement as we should judge history by modern ethics, not something certain people gloss over when telling that story.)
it's politically inconvienient to actually let people know what the British actually did. Shame.
Politically inconvenient to let people know what basically EVERY country did at the time. Yes it is shameful for everyone.
FYI, interesting to know the debt to the U.K., from initiating and forcing the abolition of slavery was eventually paid off in 2015.
@@jimaspinall2927 No. That debt was for compensating the slave owners (needed to get enough votes to get the act through the House of Lords). It was payed off when the interest rates dropped enough that it was cheaper to borrow new money.
@@peterjackson4763 yes to pay comp but it also cost a lot to station ships etc. At least the British Empire did something good for once.
Same for us in the states, 600,000 white men died to free the slaves in america but everyone pisses on them.
@@johnmulligan7609 Yes, but that was not covered by the debt paid off in 2015. Partly because the Royal Navy raised money independantly from the rest of the government (at least early on - I don't know when that system ended).
I'm British, and this was all news to me!
I was not privately educated but I don't member learning any of this in school.
Because it doesn't suit the modern agenda !
Thank you for setting the record straight! Britain has always been ahead of the game, but especially when it comes to human rights. The woke generation is not bothering to arm itself with any of the facts and trying to make out that we're as bad or worse than other countries when it comes to issues of race, and it just isn't true. Of course they don't want to hear it, because it doesn't fit with their narrative 🙄 At some point reason will prevail and they'll be called out on their utter BS.
Ignorance is not a crime, we can't all know everything. Only wilful ignorance, and especially wilfully stubborn ignorance, is a crime.
You made a mistake, you admitted that mistake, you apologized for that mistake, and you learned from that mistake. Those are the actions and attributes of not only a wise man, but also of an honourable man.
Well done!
we sacrificed many souls and ships to protect the ancenstors of the people who today blame us for all of it although we did very little in comparison to those who continued when we stopped so we destroyed there ships
Yeah ignore the negative comments. Great channel, great content.
You rock man, keep up the good work.
It's pretty shit that we weren't even taught this in school. We don't even get taught that the british were the first to abolish slavery. We just get taught it ended in 1865 after the American civil war
@Jo Sm Denmark/Norway Empire began legislation to stop their own participation in the slave trade to their colonies in the Caribbean a couple of years before the UK (1792 to become effective in 1803) but it was unilateral and did not try to inhibit the trade as a whole. A total ban on owning slaves was introduced in 1848, which was after the British made it illegal in 1833, taking effect in 1834. .
I got taught it in secondary school. Went to a comprehensive.
@Jo Sm you know what i mean 🤣
There's a wonderful film called, 'Amazing Grace' starring Rhys Ifans, telling the story of William Wilberforce's life long fight to end slavery. Plus if you've seen the film 'Amistad' you will note it is the British Navy that attacks the slave fortress, Lomboko, in Sierra Leone, whilst the court case is on going in the USA. None of this excuses the Brits for their practice of slavery, but it does give historical facts. p.s. ever wondered why Sierra Leone's capital is called Freetown? I find it quite poignant.
It's in the syllabus, must have gone to a school with slow students so you didn't get round to it.
Try a video about the history of the barberry pirates and the cruelty that they did that will open your eyes
I'm so sorry you got any hateful comments. Everyone has to learn what they know at some point in their life so it's silly to get angry at people for not knowing something yet.
A sincere and manful retraction. Thank you and well done.
I had read that during the American war of independence Britain offered slaves freedom if they fought for the crown. I knew this happened and it makes sense now knowing this.
And when they lost, they honoured their commitment, transporting those folks and their families away, whereas the victorious new American states conveniently forgot the promises the british's offer of manumission had forced them to make in response.....
The Nova Scotia Blacks
The anti-slavery lawsuits were a major reason the southern American colonies joined the revolution; they saw the writing on the wall regarding slavery and sought to delay it.
Indeed. I bet that gets omitted from the American syllabus when they teach kids about their battle for independence from the British 😂
@@penname5766 Yeah, no. It doesn't. The founders were very aware of the potential for future conflict (and wrote about it) over slavery because most of the northern states understood that it was over and were making moves to make it illegal.
@@ridesharegold6659 Britain offered freedom to join the Crown. This makes sense now.
@@andymason5715 Yes, most of those former slaves who fought for Britain wound up in Nova Scotia after the war. Which is ironic because that was the center of the slave trade in Canada and wasn't abolished in Canada until 1834. Point is - Vermont banned slavery in 1777, Pennsylvania in 1780, Massachusetts in 1783, Ohio 1787, New York in 1799, etc. None of those states were fighting to preserve slavery but at the time people were well aware that it was going to cause problems down the road and four score and seven years later 330,000 Americans died fighting to end slavery.
@Carl Johnson read a book.
We've just learnt that despite what we do, the British most notably the English are hated for for it. Regardless of which, we will still get on with it.
The work of the Royal Navy in ending slavery is often overlooked. Loved the vid and subscribed. Keep up the good work.
This is a good video, interesting history that defiantly needs more coverage. however i'm from Bristol and my dad from Liverpool both massively built up from slavery. as a nation we shouldn't forget that too.
We have to be careful not to imply that built up cities meant that everyone living there somehow benefited from the Empire. You could probably travel now, anywhere in the former Empire, and find a Victorian public library and an overly ornate town hall with a dodgy looking statue in front of it.
@Jake Kam I'm from Bristol too . It's good that statue is gone as it upset people. But that Colston man was just a rich horrible man . He cared only for the rich and helped only the rich and got rich by his evil actions abroad. The poorer classes had nothing to do with him and we now have nothing to be ashamed about . I say pull down Colston school . Makes no difference to anyone but the rich ! And Colston Hall name has been changed . It makes no difference to the inside of the building. It just upsets older people who have memories of it which I do understand too . But eventually the place would have been upgraded and changed anyway. I am not ashamed of Bristol. I am not rich
Fun fact when slavery in the Empire was ended compensation was paid to every owner, no claim was made from Canada. the single largest claimant was get this the Church of England.
You mean the Church of Money, Power, and Influence.
A general rule of thumb in Britain is if the churches (protestant or Catholic, it makes little difference) were involved then it was probably some shady shit. Gotta say fuck yeah to Canada though, seems almost ever thing I hear about that country is good stuff!
Hey bro, it’s nice to see you learning from things and actually checking the comments to see our reaction to your reaction, it’s also good to see the channel grow, keep it up 👍
Have you tried to edit a historical wikipedia article? That shit gets corrected fast especially with all the citations at the bottom.
The saddest thing is that there are over 3 times more slaves today than in the hundreds of years of the Atlantic slave trade. Around 1 in 200 people alive today are slaves.
I was one of the ones who correcting you in the comments. There wasn't malice to it, but with how many were commenting, I probably shouldn't have. Sorry bro.
If I am wrong I have no problem with being corrected, there were some nasty comments but definitely not all the ones correcting me were. Thanks for apologizing though. Hope you all the best.
I saw Sargon's video a while ago and have found that most people who are vocal about slavery out if Africa are completely oblivious to what's in this video.
I also visited the slave museum and some places where slaves were sold while in holiday in Gambia many years ago. I have also found that those most vocal about slavery out of Africa have no knowledge of the part Africans played in slavery.
Slavery existed in Native American communities prior to Europeans getting there. The British ended slavery in the Empire and beyond for the first time in history. Sadly it’s come back with a vengeance in post colonial Africa, China and North Korea.
@Jo Sm You believe some right old tosh.
When were the Barbadian & Jamaican slave revolts?
When & what was the First Reform Act?
When was the Slavery Abolition Act?
When did the UK free its last slaves?
Who worked the sugar plantations after abolition?
@Jo Sm Actually, If you take a look at the life and times of Bilal in Islamic history you can see that Mohammad was ambivalent to slavery as an idea, and that he outright stated that there shouldn't be any slaves, but that it was a matter of personal piety to free slaves, whether the man was pro-slavery or pro-abolition of it, doesn't exist in the historical record because he didn't have the political freedom or the time to enact that sort of sweeping societal change.
However if you want a measure of his thoughts you can look at the rule of his son-in-law Ali, who favoured Mohammad's personal teachings in all his rule.
If however you want to be Islamophobic about Slavery, I will point out nobody in the world has any room to talk, Slavery existed everywhere and there is no place in the world that has ever gone abolitionist prior to like the 1200's at the earliest. (Sweden)
@Jo Sm You do notice the contradiction in your point here don't you? It's either an act of piety to release slaves, or releasing slaves is something he can criticize people for, you can't have it both ways.
Which freed people did he re-enslave precisely, and ok, he had thirty slaves when he died... George Washington had 317 and so?
Except of course that your source on Islamic Theology is a Salafi Saudi scholar who doesn't believe in non-hate speech, taking his word for Islam is about as valid as taking Nigel Farage's word on the EU, or Donald Trump on Mexico.
@Jo Sm
1. it's not a compulsion, but again its a theological and ideological standpoint that bottoms out in "Slavery Bad" I've not actually seen anything attributed directly to Mohammad, ie Sahih Bukhari or Sahih Muslim that supports your previous assertions.
2. I still haven't been able to find a source that details Mohammad's participation in the slave trade, beyond buying and freeing slaves. So I'm still very curious as to your sources for this. If you have someone of the dignity of Lewis or Montgomery Watt, I'd like to see it.
3. Al Fawzan is Saudi cleric, which means theologically that his remit is Saudi Arabia and presumably Shaafi'i, You're claiming that his authority is Universal, but you haven't provided any evidence that scholars of Hanbali, Hanafi or Maliki agree with him. Nor have you provided any evidence that his theological thought is accepted amongst Shia Islam. If you're going to keep using the Nigel Farage of Islam as a source, maybe you should check what others think.
4. I'm not an apologist for Islam, I'm asking that you provide a clear untainted source for you're rather vitriolic arguments.
5. I'm not a Muslim, I'm a Lutheran, so he isn't "my Prophet" If I wanted to go into theological apologia for my beliefs, i'd have to start considering far more interesting theological points, such as how much the fine for abortion should be in modern society.
We brought it back in Libya after overthrowing Gadaffi.
Don’t let the haters get you down mate, facts can be wrong all the time with all the different stuff we’re told and lied to about
As a brit, it's hardly taught in school.
I did history on the East India company but that was mostly about merchants and the spice trade, though the slavery crusade came into it in little detail (no mention of how the laws came to pass etc)
Though even in little knowledge, the base concept of ending slavery was learned and what soon became to be called the commonwealth as a result of the era.
That the commonwealth held the same views and adhered to the anti slavery laws or faced punishment under the crown.
Kind of hard to go into detail with 24 year olds.
*14 year olds I mean
At the time we were a broke country with little money left after the wars and yet we still stood against slavery. Maybe not always for the right reason but hey the ends justify the means.
A lot of British history is basically just glanced over, with just a few lines of explanation, due to the shear amount of it that there is. We have over 10,000 years of history to learn (from the start of stone age Britain), compared to just over 200 years for modern day Americans. :P
All I got in my History lessons (decades back) about the slave trade was that Britain was the first country to fully abolish it and it was one of the reasons the American colonies went to war against us, and that was it.
When the slave boats were captured they were taken to Freetown in Sierra Leone,each captured person was documented and then allowed to leave,when they passed through the gates of the port they were then free men .The registers and the dock gates still exist
Some were taken to the West Indies.
The deeper you go into history the more you realise just how important the Uk is for keeping this world in line. The UK sculpted this world🇬🇧
👏👏
We are one of the oldest still standing nations
Yeah... you do realise that we brutalised foreign people as well as our own after this as well, we just didn't do slavery. We're also setting a very bad example with Brexit by shunning mainland Europe eventhough it hurts us economically and culturally. Why do we have to cut ties with the EU in order to trade with China and the US? Why does 1/2 of all Russian money laundering pass through London banks? Why are we isolating ourselves from our closest alies?
@@rsmith6366 Firstly I don’t know why you have brought the EU into this but I will go ahead and explain anyway... At the start just leaving the EU yea it kind of hindered our economy I guess however in recent months the country has signed trade deals and partnerships possibly worth billions that wouldn’t be possible while being in the EU. Already other nations and big players within the EU such as France and Spain are doubting their membership badge and they’re supposably the ones holding it together! I think we’ve led a great example. What “closest allies” are we actually isolating ourselves from exactly? I’m not claiming to be some historian but anyone who knows just a slither of basic history knows that our “closest allies” are outside the EU and reuniting. We don’t dislike Europe, just the Union..
@@itzchaos3861 Yeah, I am a historian. Our closest allies are literally Western Europe. We share culture, politics, trade routes, language... Exactly what trade deals have we secured outside of the EU that the EU wouldn't allow? Maybe that would be because they go against anti corruption laws and human rights legislation. Half of Rissian money laundering already goes through London banks, you can create a shell company in the UK without any checks which allows money laundering. 68% of trade to Europe has halted since Jan 1st. N Irish shops can't even get basic produce and they're on the brink of physical violence to border check staff ala the Troubles. The US has stated that they will only make new trade agreements if we rejoin the Union. France and Spain have no intention of leaving the Union, you're thinking of Catalan because they want independence from Spain. Brexit is no better than a US state leaving their Union because they want slavery and guns.
I live in a city (Kingston Upon Hull) where one of the UK anti slave Member of Parliament lived, William Wilberforce. We have a very tall statue of him and a museum with the slave trade artifacts and history. Most schools in my era, 1960’s, visited the museum and we learnt some of this in history lessons and I believe this continues to this very day. Anti slave activities was very strong on Britain in the 1700’s and 1800’s which is being misrepresented or misunderstood by certain individuals. Scurvy by the was was one of the diseases that the Royal Navy suffered resulting from poor diet and living conditions onboard ship. Proud to be British..
Well done for admitting that. This is the problem with a lot of people today. Too quick to dismiss history because of what they've heard or believe.
when its pushed in lots of places you may believe it if you are young and gullible , although i do know some who have read stuff and said that things sound a bit far fetched ie the queen stealing children and that the rf are vampires and p.charles is a descendent of dracula , you know these ones are not the full shilling , thing with british tv is its a lot better than across the pond where they got fed a diet of soaps and adverts , we tend to know things about the rest of the world , i was told by someone the east had nuclear weapons long long before the west ,
It is a proud history (I’m British by the way), but it was not entirely altruistic - the slave trade, particularly in the West Indies, was no longer especially profitable, and the humanitarian movement gained sufficient power to overwhelm the interests of slavers - who were compensated financially for every slave freed by the British government (& its taxpayers of course) to ensure that the will of Parliament was enforced. I must admit that in my younger years in the 1960s, during the Civil Rights struggles in the US, I was particularly fascinated by the struggles in some of the southern US States which still practised and wanted to continue to practise segregation - Governor Wallace of Alabama was a particular hate figure at the time, But my parents, specially my father, reminded me that during WWII there was segregation amongst US troops stationed in Britain and that many/most people in Britain at the time found this both amazing & unacceptable, but as we were then fighting for survival as a nation we went along with this American practice out of necessity, but I understand many people in Britain at the time made a particular point of befriending ‘coloured’ American soldiers (as they were known then), despite the displeasure of the US military authorities here. That’s not to say of course that Britain then was entirely without fault in relation to its own colonies (India and large parts of Africa) but the discrimination then was mainly social, never in matters of basic human rights. In very recent years a law was passed here outlawing what is called “modern-day slavery”, basically people who are effectively indentured labour with little practical right to free themselves from their work conditions. This still occurs here and in various other countries (including in the US in the cases of at least some undocumented aliens, who are exploited as cheap labour with few or no rights), often as human-trafficking for prostitution or sweatshop labour and is rightly condemned and sanctioned whenever it comes to light.
The story of how Learie Constantine (West Indies Cricketer) had to leave his London hotel in 1944 due to the arrival of the US Army top-brass was particularly shocking. Learie was working for the BBC at the time. In the US army infirmation film made for GIs coming to the UK, the segregation issue is tackled head on. Its available on UA-cam, the one with Burgess Meredith and Bob Hope
Nice honest breakdown 👍
I agree that it wasn't entirely altruistic but there's no dout that humanitarian altruism was the overwhelming driving force behind the abolutionist movement and to state that the trade was "no longer especially profitable" is complete and utter nonsense.
@@HighlandMike325 Yes I think I viewed that on UA-cam a while back too.
@@Codex7777 Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree here, the economics of the empire were beginning to change in the years running up to the rebellion in the American colonies & its eventual independence, so transportation of criminals, many mere petty criminals, there had to end, to be replaced conveniently enough by transportation to the then newly established colonies in Australia. The practical conditions of those transported were not so very different from those of indentured labour or slaves, but without the actual element of ownership, and in the case of those transported there was usually an end point where freedom could be achieved for those who managed to survive, It’s certainly true though that to enforce the new laws against slavery in the British Empire, slavers in British possessions in the Caribbean etc had to be compensated financially by the British government, and many slavers initially resisted freeing their slaves.
I guess i got recommended here from sargon views, you seem like a real humble dude, keep up the good work!
Everyone makes mistakes once in awhile . Besides we all make mistakes to learn from them
Bang on mate
Pretty big mistake
@@rsmith6366 everyone makes mistakes and you could tell he was sorry..it's not like you haven't made mistakes before ..it's natural to make mistakes
@@sveinbjrnv7291 Not the guy, I mean Britain doing slavery.
@@rsmith6366 well historically speaking slavery was the world works throught history many cultures have used slaves look at Rome and the Arab empires for example so people didnt think it was such a bad thing as we think of it today so it's considered a mistake for today's thinking but not for people back then