EDINBURGH should publicly acknowledge the city’s “past role in sustaining slavery and colonialism” and apologise to “those places and people who suffered,” according to a new action plan.

The recommendation drawn up by the independent Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Group will go in front of councillors next week.

The body, chaired by academic Sir Geoff Palmer, has also called for statues, monuments, buildings and street names associated with slavery and colonialism in Edinburgh to be “retained” but “re-presented in accordance with a new, dedicated interpretation strategy which explains the nature and consequences of that involvement.”

He has also urged councillors to organise “friendship agreements” with cities in countries “most impacted by Edinburgh’s historic involvement with slavery and colonialism.”

The professor emeritus at Heriot-Watt has also called for teaching materials for schools to be developed. He says there is a gap in the curriculum. 

Sir Geoff’s report also recommended a “significant” new public artwork.

The report says the work of re-presenting statues, buildings and street names associated with slavery and colonialism could take several years.

However, the issuing of an apology for Edinburgh’s past role in the practices could take place within a year.

Edinburgh council established the Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Group in November 2020, in the wake of the global Black Lives Matters protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.

The anger at his murder led to debate over Scotland’s relationship with slavery and attitudes towards race. In Edinburgh, much of that anger centred on the monument in St Andrew Square.

The structure commemorates 18th century Home Secretary Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, who is accused of delaying the abolition of slavery by 15 years. 

However, the review group has come in for some fierce criticism. Other than Sir Geoff, it is not known who else is involved.

There are eight other members, but the council has refused to disclose their identities citing concerns about online and offline abuse.

None are historians, which has led to criticism from senior academics, including Sir Tom Devine.

Earlier this year, he warned the final report could have a credibility problem. 

In his foreword, Sir Geoff said: “I was born in Jamaica.

“I am descended from slaves and Scots who enslaved them, and there are Scottish names in my family such as Gladstone, Mowatt and Wood.

“The baptisms list of chattel slaves ‘belonging to Lord Balcarres’ in Jamaica 1819, includes the name of my great grandfather.

“His name was Henry Larmond. One of my names is Henry.

“With so intimate a bond to this legacy, it was a great honour to be invited by the City of Edinburgh Council to chair this independent review and oversee the creation of a set of recommendations addressing Edinburgh’s slavery and colonialism legacy in the public realm.”

Sir Geoff stressed the importance of education in tackling historic racial injustices.

His report said the slave trade had shaped the city but its history had “largely been hidden” from the public.

It said: “Slavery contributed to the flow of wealth into Edinburgh that manifested itself in the elegant construction of the New Town.

“Compensation to slave owners was often reinvested in the railway boom.

“Statues were erected to honour people whose deeds linked them to perpetuation of slavery or notions of racial superiority.”

It noted a number of prominent locations and buildings with links to the slave trade, noting that 74 slave-owning New Town residents received compensation for the loss of their “property” upon abolition in 1833.

 

Sir Geoff’s report mentions that Bute House, which is now the First Minister’s official residence, was historically owned by people who benefitted from the slave trade.

 

Edinburgh council leader Cammy Day said: “We commissioned this independent review because we felt it was an important and useful starting point for a wide-ranging public discussion about the modern-day impact of this legacy, and to acknowledge that race-based discrimination has deep roots in our capital.

 

“It still shapes the life experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic residents today, and that is unacceptable. Racism must be talked about, and action to end it must be supported if it is to be stamped out and we are to be the inclusive and welcoming City that the vast majority of its residents wants and expects it to be.

 

“Thanks to the work of the Group we have 10 recommendations to consider that reflect the opinions and preferences of our residents about this subject. I would like to thank the Group and Chair Sir Geoff Palmer for their time and commitment to undertaking this review. I look forward to the discussion next week and consideration of how the recommendations can be taken forward.”