Should the Statue of Edward Colston have been taken down?

Wise and virtuous son of the City?

Who was Edward Colston?
Edward Colston (1636-1721) was an English merchant, and slave trader. Edward grew up very privileged and he
began his career as a merchant of goods such as wine and fruits, but steadily, as the slave trade further established
itself, Colston found that slave trading was a more profitable business. At the time before many people thought
about the morality of the slave trade, and the people that found issue in it were too afraid to speak up. He put his
money to many good causes however, such as schools, hospitals and even churches. Many of the things he funded
are named after him to this day.

Left: Controversial imaginary deathbed scene

painted in 1844, you can see a slave kissing
Colston’s hand in what looks like thankfulness.
It is part of what feeds into the myth of
Colston’s ‘wise and virtuous’ statue half a
century after this painting.

It is worth remembering that when Colston was alive, lots of people did not like him because he imposed his political
views and High Church values on other people. Everyone who benefitted from Colston’s money when he was alive
had to show they shared his political views.

What is the purpose of statues?

Statues represent what people have chosen to celebrate and remember. They don’t show complete history. In the
past, as far back as Ancient Greek and Roman times, statues were displayed to show power and authority. With this
in mind, we need to explore why the statue of Colston was put up 170 years after he died.

Why was the statue put up?

The statue was commissioned by James Arrowsmith he was a local Liberal publisher and historian who ended up
paying for most of it himself because his appeal for money and doners was not successful. This shows that the
people of Bristol really were not bothered about having a statue to remember Colston in the first place.

In the late Victorian period, there was a lot of unrest because working classes were demanding better rights. Lots
more people lived together in the cities because of the increasing industry and technological changes. Many middle
and upper class people were afraid that the working class people could cause a revolution.

Putting the statue of Colston up was a political attempt to help give people a feeling that they all shared some
history and to give people in Bristol a feeling of belonging. The plaque on the statue called Colston a Wise and
Virtuous Son of the City for this reason.

Slavery
Colston’s wealth came from the slave trade. He even had slaves branded with his company logo using red hot irons.
The horrors of the slave trade have directly led to people being disadvantaged in today’s society. Colston’s statue is
therefore one that celebrates white supremacy and its central position in Bristol was very triggering for large
numbers of people.
The campaigns to remove the statue had been going on for decades before it was toppled this Summer, but the
Council never made that decision because they did not want to upset the Merchant Venturers who still have massive
investments in much of the city of Bristol in the fear they would pull funding.

The toppling of the statue

Looking back, the toppling of Colston was not surprising in a year of lockdown and then Black Lives Matter protests.
Even the police knew it would be right not to intervene. In the 21 st century we cannot continue to celebrate Colston
in the way that he was in the past. It was right that the statue was removed but it should have been removed long
ago by the authorities. The fact that the statue was put up for a particular political reason in 1895 is one of the many
reasons that it is acceptable to remove it now. At least now that the statue was toppled and the story made
international news, more change has happened. Schools are changing their names and students in schools are
learning more than ever before about our city’s dark history. Colston had to fall.