Edward Colston (1636-1721) was an English merchant and Tory MP. He was a great philanthorpist, endowing schools and almshouses and supporting the High Anglican movement in the Church of England. It was Bristol, England which he represented in Parliament that benefited most from his largesse.
In Bristol, he founded almshouses in King Street and Colstons Almshouses on St Michael's Hill, endowed Queen Elizabeth's Hospital school, and helped found Colston's Hospital, a boarding school which opened in 1710 leaving an endowment to be managed by the Society of Merchant Venturers for its upkeep.[3] He gave money to schools in Temple (one of which went on to become St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School) and other parts of Bristol, and to several churches and the cathedral.[3][17]
David Hughson, writing in 1808, described Colston as "the great benefactor of the city of Bristol, who, in his lifetime, expended more than 70,000L. [£] in charitable institutions",[18] equivalent to £5,581,350 in 20
In 1894, a committee was formed to raise funds for a statue to honor his philanthropy and it was ereced in 1895.
Edward Colston was apprenticed to the Mercers Company, a London City Guild in 1654 and by 1672 had established his trading company. He exported textiles from London while importing oils, wine and sherry from Spain and Portugal. He also traded silk with Virginia and was a regular trader of Newfoundland cod to Naples. In 1680 he diversified his portfolio with a new commodity, people. Edward Colston became a successful entrepreneur in the slave trade.
Almost 300 years after Colston’s death, Bristol has changed out of all recognition, somewhat aided by the little disagreement with Germany in the 1940s. Perhaps the current most famous son of Bristol is the artist Banksy.
Bristol's modern economy is built on the creative media, electronics and aerospace industries, and the city-centre docks have been redeveloped as centres of heritage and culture. The city has the largest circulating community currency in the UK; the Bristol pound, which is pegged to the Pound sterling. The city has two universities, the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England, and a variety of artistic and sporting organisations and venues including the Royal West of England Academy, the Arnolfini, Spike Island, Ashton Gate and the Memorial Stadium. It is connected to London and other major UK cities by road and rail, and to the world by sea and air: road, by the M5 and M4 (which connect to the city centre by the Portway and M32); rail, via Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway mainline rail stations; and Bristol Airport.
One of the UK's most popular tourist destinations, Bristol was named the best city in Britain in which to live in 2014 and 2017, and won the European Green Capital Award in 2015.
The people of Bristol changed too. Slavery in no longer acceptable and statues glorifying those who organised it are no longer acceptable, at least without contextualisation. It appears Colston’s statue was provocative from the start, much like the explosion of Civil War “heroes” statue erected in response to early civil rights movements.
According to Tim Cole of the University of Bristol, the Colston statue was proposed as a response to the nearby erection of another statue in Bristol, depicting Edmund Burke, who had been critical of the city's involvement in the slave trade.
The extent of Colston’s involvement with the development of the Bristol slave trade was recorded by historians in the 1920s. By the 1990s the statue had become contraversial with increasing calls for its removal. That was finally achieved on June 7, 2020.
During a Black Lives Matter protest, a group spray-painted the statue and dragged it from its pedestal. It was then rolled into the nearby river breaking off part of the long flock coat in the proces. This incidentally revealled some nice modelling of the upper left leg by the sculptor John Cassidy. The police attending the protest did not intervene. Later four people were arrested and charged with “Criminal Damage”.
Today, Wednesday, a jury found Sage Willoughby, Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford and Jake Skuse not guilty that they “together with "others unknown", damaged the Colston statue and plinth of a value unknown without lawful excuse.”
None of the “Coltston Four” denied their actions, rather the crux of their defense was that the statue caused such offense that they had a lawful excuse to remove it. This was summed up in Milo Ponsford’s evidence:
when it was put to him that he had no lawful excuse to damage it, he replied: "There was a lawful excuse, it was preventing further harm to the people of Bristol."
He added: "It's an offence to the whole character of Bristol, particularly in this day and age. I think it's just wrong."
Mr Ponsford, who is a carpenter, said he had only decided to bring his rope on the morning of the protest, although he did discuss toppling the statue in his workshop the previous evening.
It appears the jury agreed.
Blinne Ni Ghralaigh, for Ms Graham, 30, said the case "demonstrates the fundamental importance of trial by jury".
"In this case, they determined that a conviction for the removal of this statue - that glorified a slave trader involved in the enslavement of over 84,000 black men, women and children as a 'most virtuous and wise' man - would not be proportionate."
The BLM movement also led to others in the UK re-visiting their cultural displays. A statue of another involved in the slave trade was moved from outside the Docklands Museum in London. Also in London, the Geffrye Museum was renamed the Museum of the Home. This was originally named after Sir Robert Geffrye (1613-1703) who endowed a set of almshouses for the widows of ironmongers which house the museum. He had also invested in the slave trade and part owned a slave ship. The statue that had stood prominently in the almshouse grounds has been moved to a wall and contexturalised.
On a lighter note, the BLM protests prompted English Morris Dance troupes to examine the traditional use of black face make-up. This could be a smear to full-face (but usually not neck). The origins are obscure. One suggestion is that it is a reference to the “Moorish” dances said to be part of the dance’s origins. Another is to disguise the dancers so they could not be arrested for “begging” the pints of beer they get at pubs when going through rhe villages. To avoid confusion with the “Nigger Minstrel” (yes that’s what it was called) tradition, they all changed to bright colors or patterns in 2021 (lockdown meant no performances in 2020).
As for Colston’s statue, it was recovered from the river and has been lovingly conserved by the local museum authorities. The main work involved removing all the mud and ensuring that the spray paint was not coming away from the bronze. It is now on back on display. It’s no longer a disputed statue praising an 18th century slave trader put up by 19th century Imperialists. It’s now an historic document of the day the people of Bristol decisively rejected their atitudes. Today’s verdict by a jury of Brisolians shows that was not confined to those protesting in 2020.