‘Woke’ travel guide on Edinburgh’s slave trade links says statue of MP should be pulled down

‘Woke’ travel guide on Edinburgh’s slave trade links says statue of 18th century MP Henry Dundas should be pulled down

  • Travel guide calls for removal of Tory MP Henry Dundas statue from Edinburgh
  • Dundas delayed abolition of slavery in British colonies for more than a decade
  • Book looks at debate over renaming buildings and monuments linked to slavery 

A ‘woke’ travel guide on Edinburgh’s links with the slave trade calls for the removal of the statue of 18th-century MP Henry Dundas. 

Exploring Edinburgh examines how much of the city’s wealth was built on its involvement in the Caribbean slave trade between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Compiled by Glaswegian writer Robin Ward, the book says that Tory politician Dundas is the ‘least deserving’ of the honour of having a statue, which rests on top of Melville Monument in St Andrews Square.

According to his critics, Dundas, a lawyer and politician, delayed the abolition of slavery in British colonies for 15 years.

The Scottish advocate gained the nickname of ‘The Uncrowned King of Scotland’ and ‘The Great Tyrant’ which he lived up to when he was caught misusing public money in 1806 and impeached.

The top of the Melville Monument in Edinburgh, pictured. It was re-dedicated to ‘more than half a million Africans whose enslavement was a consequence of Henry Dundas’s actions’

Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount Melville, is commemorated at the Melville Monument

Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount Melville, is commemorated at the Melville Monument

The book, published by Edinburgh-based Luath Press, looks at the bitter debates over the renaming of more than 300 buildings, monuments and streets, and whether centuries-old statues should be removed. 

It also reflects on the impact of the Black Lives Matter campaign in Edinburgh last summer as campaigners urge the city to do more to recognise its role in slavery,  

Lesser-known buildings highlighted include Spylaw House, which was owned by the tobacco tycoon James Gillespie, who made his fortune from the slave trade.

Mr Ward describes Bute House as ‘inhabited by the ghosts of slavery’. 

He tells how the address was associated with claimants of compensation following the abolition of ownership of slaves in British colonies in the 19th century.

And the author describes Sugarhouse Close, off the Royal Mile, as ‘sounding sweet but hides the bitter taste of the slave trade’.

The Edinburgh Sugar House Company which was based there from 1752 brought in its raw material from plantations worked by African slaves in the West Indies. 

Exploring Edinburgh examines how much of the city's wealth was built on its involvement in the Caribbean slave trade between the 17th and 19th centuries

Exploring Edinburgh examines how much of the city’s wealth was built on its involvement in the Caribbean slave trade between the 17th and 19th centuries

Black Lives Matter activists gather in St Andrews Square on June 20, 2020, in Edinburgh

Black Lives Matter activists gather in St Andrews Square on June 20, 2020, in Edinburgh

Writing in the book, Mr Ward says: ‘Edinburgh’s narrative of enlightenment and cultural heritage ignores many ghosts.

‘Those at Sugarhouse Close are from the slave trade – sugar produced by African slaves on colonial plantations in the West Indies was processed at a refinery in the close. Many of the plantations were owned by Scottish merchants.

‘Glasgow’s complicity in transatlantic slavery is acknowledged. Edinburgh has recently been forced to face up to its involvement.

‘Slavery in English (later British) colonies gained royal patronage in the 1660s when Charles II granted a charter to (and invested in) what became the Royal African Company.

‘The trade continued until 1807 when the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed.

‘Ownership of slaves was not abolished until 1833, and then only because the British Government agreed to compensate not the slaves but their owners.

‘The payout was £20 million (40 percent of the Treasury’s annual budget at the time). Around half of the claimants in Edinburgh gave addresses in the New Town.

‘Profits from plantations and participation in British imperialism bankrolled modern Scotland, but the stain of slavery and its architectural legacy, unlike the medieval fabric of St. Giles’ Cathedral, cannot be easily scrubbed away.’

Henry Dundas: The ‘Uncrowned King of Scotland’ who was impeached after being caught misusing public money in 1806

Who was he?

Henry Dundas (1742 – 1811) was a Conservative politician, Scottish Advocate and the first Secretary of State for War – some historians claim that he delayed the abolition of slavery in 1792.

During his time as Home Secretary Dundas is said to have proposed that slavery be abolished in ‘three stages’ over a decade.

The Scottish advocate gained the nickname of ‘The Uncrowned King of Scotland’ and ‘The Great Tyrant’ which he lived up to when he was caught misusing public money in 1806 and impeached.

Where is his statue?

On the top of the Melville Monument in St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Who wants his statue removed?

A petition to the Scottish government was started by Nancy Barrett earlier this year. She proposed Dundas street should be re-named after Joseph Knight, a Scottish-Jamaican slave who won a court case and then an appeal in 1778 to free himself, by proving that slavery didn’t exist in Scots Law.