Slave trader’s legacy is hot topic for pupils
PUPILS in Glasgow have gone head-to-head with their peers in Toronto to debate the legacy of the slave trade represented in Scotland’s statues and street names.
Teenagers from Lourdes Secondary School and North Toronto Collegiate Institute held a discussion about Henry Dundas, a Lord Advocate and MP whose actions deferred the abolition of the slave trade.
In Glasgow, the city has a Dundas Street while Toronto is home to Dundas Street and Dundas Square, honouring the legacy of Lord Melville, who died in 1811.
Youngsters argued the question of whether he helped or hindered the slave trade in a project run by Parallel Histories, an educational charity promoting new ways to study conflict.
Peter Milne, who teaches history at Lourdes Secondary School, said: “Our students love this project because it’s also a chance for them to weigh up the evidence and come to their own view.
“And because the students know about the debate around Glasgow’s role in the slave trade and all the street names that derive from that, the controversy around the signage on the Melville memorial in Edinburgh is very meaningful to them.
“This is a project which make history come alive.”
Lord Melville’s legacy was a talking point last year as a debate raged over the Melville memorial in Edinburgh.
It was proposed that a helps plaque be placed alongside the memorial, explaining that “While first Secretary of State for War in 1796 he was instrumental in deferring the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.
“As a result of this delay, more than half a million enslaved Africans crossed the Atlantic.” Canadian teacher Greg Hobson said: “Black Lives Matter is a very sensitive topic here and I can see why some teachers choose not to bring these issues into the classroom because they are worried about creating conflict.
“However, in my view it’s too big an issue and too controversial and divisive to leave outside the classroom. We need to help young people learn how to debate robustly but respectfully.”
In England and Scotland, the debate about how to remember the country’s involvement in the slave trade has centred around statues like that of Edward Colston in Bristol and Cecil Rhodes in Oxford, and Lord Melville in Edinburgh.
Parallel Histories spokesman Michael Davies said: “Each school got to go twice so they could argue both sides of the case, both for and against Dundas, and the teachers from both schools gave individual feedback to each speaker so everyone learned something – it wasn’t just a case of win or lose.
“I love watching young people debate controversial historical subjects.
“They do it so much better than adults who can sometimes end up shouting past each other.
“They are genuinely curious about finding out the facts, really getting into the source material.”