Cardiff mayor calls for statue of ‘sadistic slave owner’ to be removed
THE mayor of Cardiff has appealed to authorities to remove a statue of a 19th-century war hero who he described as a “sadistic 19th-century slave-owner”.
The marble statue of Sir Thomas Picton has stood in Cardiff City Hall since 1916 when it was unveiled by future prime minister David Lloyd George, and is part of a series of memorials depicting “Heroes of Wales”.
Yesterday, mayor Dan De’Ath said in a letter to Cardiff council it was “no longer acceptable” to keep the statue in place following events in Bristol on Sunday, when protesters toppled the bronze memorial to slave trader Edward Colston and dumped it into the harbour.
Mr De’Ath said on Twitter he had asked “for the removal of the statue of sadistic 19th-century slave-owner, Sir Thomas Picton”.
The First Minister later said he believed “action should be taken” by authorities to remove monuments from public spaces in Wales which celebrate controversial figures in history.
Picton was accused of having a dozen slaves executed during his “highly brutal” regime as governor of Trinidad during colonial rule, and is said to have used the slave trade to partially build up his considerable fortune.
In 1806, nine years before he became the highest-ranking officer killed at the Battle of Waterloo, he was found guilty of torturing a 14-year-old mixedrace girl during his rule of the Caribbean island.
The girl, Louisa Calderon, was tortured in an attempt to get her to confess to stealing from a businessman she lived with as a mistress, and was suspended with rope by one arm above a spike in the floor.
He was never sentenced, and two years later the verdict was reversed at a retrial.
Mr De’Ath wrote: “Even in his own era, Picton’s treatment of Louisa Calderon was considered by many as repellent. It was a huge scandal which divided the public.
“The case became a sensation at the time and shone a light on the brutal realities of the British colonial system and indirectly of colonial slavery.
“I feel that it is no longer acceptable for Picton’s statue to be amongst the ‘Heroes of Wales’ in City Hall, and I am calling on you to arrange for its removal from the Marble Hall at a time when resources and logistics allow and when it is safe to do so.”
First Minister Mark Drakeford was later asked about events in Bristol at a press conference, and said “the time had actually passed when such a statue should have been confined to a museum” rather than “something that we walk past and celebrate today”.
He said while he did not want scenes from Bristol replicated in Wales due to the public health risk, he believed “action should be taken” to place such monuments in the correct context.
Mr Drakeford said Wales was “not immune” from having a history in the slave trade, and said it was right the country had to “confront that rather than sidestep it”.
He added: “Where we have statues to people whose histories in Wales belong in that past, and belong in that past context, rather than being on display as a form of continued celebration, then action should be taken.
“I’m confident that Cardiff council will respond in a very careful and considered way, and understanding the changed context in which we are living.”
Cardiff council was approached for comment.