How the slave trade funded Britain
A new book argues that people-trafficking was once “an essential part of British national life”.
Of course,” remarked the prime minister David Cameron in June 2014, “we should teach history with warts and all.” But, he went on, “we should be proud of what Britain has done to defend freedom and develop these institutions – parliamentary democracy, a free press, the rule of law – that are so essential for people all over the world. This is the country that helped fight fascism, topple communism and abolish slavery; we invented the steam engine, the light bulb, the internet; and we also gave so much of the world the way of life that they hold so dear.”