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> The UK was, however, the second largest participant in the Atlantic slave trade (Portugal has the dubious honour of being first) How does that square with th
by gnufx 6y ago
> The UK was, however, the second largest participant in the Atlantic slave trade (Portugal has the dubious honour of being first)
How does that square with the fact that the bulk of the enslaving for it was by Africans, by all accounts, which surely counts as participation in the vile business? (Barbary pirate slavers also ravaged the south coasts of the British Isles, as well as southern Europe.) That seems important context, which is either not known or ignored, amongst the beating up over what previous generations did.
- rsynnott 6y agoThe individual entities involved were _far_ smaller, and mostly don't have successor states. In terms of numbers, Portugal and the UK were clearly the largest offenders, unless one treats Africa as a single entity (in which case it would also be proper to treat Europe as a single entity).