How many buildings and institutions in the UK have their roots in the slave trade and what is being done to put things right? The question came to mind after attending a fascinating talk by historian and City of London tour guide Chris O’Donnell on St Marys Church in Wanstead. Chris told how some of the revered figures in the church, such as Sir Josiah and his son Richard Child and Jerome and John Heydon (governor of Bermuda – 1679 to 1683) were major operators in the slave trade. Sir Josiah was a leading member of the East India Company, as well as the Royal African Company, which was a leading player in the slave trade. A colleague of Sir Josiah at the Royal African Company was Sir Edward Colston, whose statue finished up in the dock at Bristol last summer, after his slave trading links were revealed.
How many buildings and institutions in the UK have their roots in the slave trade and what is being done to put things right? The question came to mind after attending a fascinating talk by historian and City of London tour guide Chris O’Donnell on St Marys Church in Wanstead. Chris told how some of the revered figures in the church, such as Sir Josiah and his son Richard Child and Jerome and John Heydon (governor of Bermuda – 1679 to 1683) were major operators in the slave trade. Sir Josiah was a leading member of the East India Company, as well as the Royal African Company, which was a leading player in the slave trade. A colleague of Sir Josiah at the Royal African Company was Sir Edward Colston, whose statue finished up in the dock at Bristol last summer, after his slave trading links were revealed.