In a small exhibition at the British Museum, Human Traffic, the Business of the Slave Trade, the display of an horrific and weighty ‘iron neck collar,’ such as was worn by slaves during transportation to the ‘New World’, tells us, more than any words could, of the sufferings endured by captured African slaves.
At the British Library, one can see a first edition of Olaudah Equiano’s anti-slave text, which describes his own experience of slavery in Africa, the Caribbean, America, and England. His book was widely read in his lifetime, going into 8 further editions. Also on display is a collection of documents which includes the plan of the ‘Brookes’ (published in 1789). This famous image of a slave ship shows how hundreds of slaves were packed into its hold throughout the voyage. The plan was distributed in the press and became instrumental in arousing the disgust and conscience of, firstly, members of the Quaker faith and then of the nation.
A recent exhibition shown at the British Museum, La Bouche Du Roi by Romuald Hazoumé recreates ‘the Brookes’ from a combination of materials including petrol cans, spices, and audio and visual elements. This powerful art work is described as ‘a meditation on human greed, exploitation and enslavement, both historic and contemporary’ and will tour the country until 2009.
Many of our major art institutions seem to be making a serious attempt to welcome those members of the public who still believe that such places are not for them. I recently met several first time visitors to the National Portrait Gallery, drawn in by an exhibition celebrating the Between Worlds: Voyagers to Britain 1700-1850.
Poems on the Underground has chosen six poems by African writers, which will be posted on tube trains this June, to be read and enjoyed by thousands of underground travellers in London during the summer months.
These are only a few of the many exciting events planned this year for the bicentenary celebrations . The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has expressed profound sorrow, but has yet to make an official apology for our country’s part in the slave trade. To my mind, the word ‘apology’ is far too mild to cover the enormity of the crimes committed in the past against humanity. Better, perhaps, to remind ourselves over and again of the inhuman actions of the slave masters and to try and make reparation by celebrating the achievements of the descendants, the sons and daughters of those early slaves.
However, it is well to remember that still today, millions of people, mainly women and children, suffer from exploitation. Thousands are forced into labour by unscrupulous masters. Burmese women have been captured and taken to Thailand as sex slaves; world-wide, children are still used as a cheap form of labour.
Prostitution continues, as do forced marriages, and the widespread buying and selling of women by dowry.
Many migrant workers are kept in bondage through the confiscation of passports. Even in Britain there are examples of workers deprived of their basic rights. A recent, shocking, case was reported on BBC Radio 4, citing conditions in a factory in, of all places, Luton. Here, where workers are employed to pack imported ‘Fair Trade’ bananas, the mainly immigrant workforce has been expected to ‘slave’ for up to 16-18 hours a day with only two short breaks in order to earn a wage that is well below the legal minimum. Hopefully such cases as this, and of the tragic deaths of the Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay, are rare in Britain, but we need to remain vigilant.