Edward Colston Debate

A statue of Colston stood in the centre of Bristol because he was a philanthropist, donating money on his death to various good causes, such as almshouses. However, he was also a prominent slave trader, being Deputy Governor of the Royal African Company, which trafficked about 80,000 slaves. Because of this, his statue was torn down by Black Lives Matter protesters on the 8th June.

Was Colston more bad than good? Is it fair to judge a historical figure by current-day morals? Can we, and should we, change history? Take a listen to hear Liza, Kian, Angelina and Jacob discussing these questions and more, when debating the motion, "This house believes that it was good that Edward Colston's statue was torn down".