BBC historian blames Churchill for war crimes and famine
WINSTON Churchill was involved in activities which could today be considered war crimes, a BBC historian has claimed.
David Olusoga, who co-presents the new Civilisations series, said that while he accepted Churchill was a national hero, ‘almost all historical figures did good and bad’.
He also said those who criticise historical statues – such as ones of Cecil Rhodes in Oxford and Edward Colston in Bristol – should not be dismissed as ‘snowflakes’ because they have ‘legitimate voices’.
We are entering a period of ‘history wars’ in which accepted versions of Britain’s past are being challenged, Mr Olusoga told the Oxfordshire Literary Festival.
‘So while I’m personally glad that Churchill overcame Halifax in early 1940 and it was Churchill who faced the Nazis that year and the years that followed, that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t somebody that wasn’t responsible, or largely responsible, for the Bengal famine [of 1943-44].
‘It doesn’t mean that he wasn’t someone who took part in things we would consider war crimes in Africa. It doesn’t mean that his views, the things he espoused, were shocking to members of his Cabinet, never mind to people at the time. Both of those things are true. Both of those Churchills exist. We’re going to have to accommodate the fact that these things are true, and there are two sides to these stories and we’re not good at it.’
He said that people are brought up with a ‘ certain version’ of British history so that some subjects become ‘sacrosanct’.
‘Certain people, we only want to hear the good things that they do. Certain events, we only want to hear the stories that we’re familiar with,’ he added.
‘And other people want to tell different stories, so we have this conflict. I think these are the history wars we are having.’
He gave the example of the statue to slaver trader Edward Colston in Bristol. One woman told him she felt ‘humiliated’ by a statue of someone who owned and killed her ancestors towering over her as she cycled to work.
He added: ‘I think we’re struggling to come to terms with the fact that things we’re familiar with actually mean something to somebody else and it’s a real challenge.
‘Their voices are legitimate and their feelings mean something and they aren’t snowflakes and they aren’t trying to end history.
‘ They have a real case. It’s partly because we get into this idea of heroes.’
Mr Olusoga, whose father is Nigerian, went on to discuss the British Empire, and said countries such as China and India ‘haven’t forgotten’ how it treated them.
He said: ‘They haven’t forgotten. We don’t get the right to choose which bits we remember. This idea that these histories are dormant is naive. The holding back of the tide of acknowledging and apologising is doomed to the weight of what’s coming.
‘There are statues all over this country of people that have a different reputation in countries that are critical to our future.’
‘There are two sides to these stories’