I have always had the feeling that Nanny rather disapproves of making money by buying and selling things, all a little bit too grubby for her.Therefore it has come as no surprise to hear that the phrase "merchants" has been banned in Bristol.
The proposed name, "Merchants' Quarter", of the city's £500 million development scheme has been dropped after campaign groups complained about its links with the slave trade.
Opponents have said the name of the city centre regeneration project was an insensitive reminder of Bristol's past.
Now the developers, the Bristol Alliance, have decided to drop the name of the project in the face of growing public disquiet.
Philip Vaughan, Bristol Alliance project director said:
"We would not wish the name of the development to cause offence
to any individual or group."
The leader of Nanny's trolls on Bristol City Council, Barbara Janke has been lobbying for a change of the name for some time.
She said:
"There is no doubt that the proposed branding has offended a significant number of people in the areas directly affected by the scheme."
Simba Tongogara, Afro Caribbean representative of St Paul's Unlimited Partnership, said:
"It's a deep rooted thing in terms of the Afro-Caribbean community.
It's good that the Bristol Alliance has seen the sensitivity
of the issue.
Knowing that the Atlantic slave trade was a holocaust for African people we must welcome that the name the Merchants Quarter has now been dropped."
That is all very well, but merchants existed before and after the slave trade. To try to eradicate all words that may have had some connection with slavery is a nonsense.
The current wealth of Bristol, and indeed the UK, was built in part on the slave trade. Yet people are still happy to live in this country and others (eg the USA) which also have had connections with slavery.
Other countries that have used slavery for their own gain include: Africa, Egypt, Italy, Greece, Nazi Germany etc. Yet we are still happy to visit and lavish praise on the Pharoahs' tombs, admire the Roman viaducts, enjoy a Greek meal and buy German cars etc!
I assume then that wine merchants, coal merchants, merchant bankers and the Merchant Venturers must also drop the word 'merchant' in case they too offend the vociferous dozen people who seem to inextricably link the word with events that happened over two hundred years ago and immediately get a bee in their bonnet. I seem to remember the dictionary definition of merchant being 'a wholesale trader', ie of any form of goods such as wine, cloth, coal, meat, fruit and oil. The definition does not specifically say 'a trader of slaves'.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, maybe these people should have a go at Liverpool and London as well as Bristol as both these ports imported far more slaves into the UK than Bristol ever did, I seem to remember one figure quoted of Liverpool 750,000, Bristol 25,000 . Bristol mainly dealt with goods coming in from the West Indies such as sugar and molasses. Not only this but maybe they ought to take on board the fact that a large number of the slaves were sold into slavery by their own people after being captured in inter-tribal warfare or by arab traders or that Barbary pirates were not averse to attacking parts of the West Country back in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Oh and finally, the existing name of the area that was to be called 'The Merchants Quarter' is Broadmead so let's see... 'Broad' is derogatory slang for a woman so maybe the feminists can kick up a fuss too. Then there is the sizeist (sp?) connotations of broad so maybe people with eating problems can have a go too. What about Mead ? Mead is an alcoholic drink and we cannot have drinking promoted can we so that is out too.
As someone with roots in the Bristol/Bath area, I am deeply offended by the decision to appease these precious people. Not all Bristol merchants were involved with the Slave Trade. What next ? Will the Bristol Old Vic theatre company be banned from performing The Merchant of Venice in case the title gives offence?
ReplyDeleteAs has been pointed out, the part played by Africans and Arabs in the Slave Trade always seems to be overlooked by the PC brigade.In my mind these groups of people werere as equally guilty as the white men when it came to the capturing, buying and selling of slaves
If the city's history is SO offensive to the Afro/Caribbean community,why do so many of them choose to live in Bristol?
I am actually rather pleased they have dropped the name, because of the endless abuse there would have been of the humble apostrophe therein. The spelling "Merchants' Quay" would of course never be permitted anyway by the hard-left loonies at Bristol Council, since correct grammar is elitist and a tool of the Nazis. Indeed, the gerund alone led straight to 6m people being gassed; while the subjunctive alone was responsible for the Japanese invasion of Singapore.
ReplyDeleteAt Petersfield in Hampshire there is a pedestrian through-way called "Ram's Walk", except that the ignorant twits in East Hampshire District Council have signposted it "Rams Walk". On seeing this sign, one's reaction is usually "Well, and what of it? How else are they supposed get around? By motorbike?"
Addendum: said Rams Walk (sic) has been dressed up with a bronze statue of a shepherd and his mutt (price unknown, would have been at least £40,000, since it's only public money), and recently also an eminently vandalizable handmade bench which e'en now is probably being set alight by the young persons of the town.
I see I have put "Merchants' Quay" instead of "Merchants' Quarter".
ReplyDeleteHaving thus corrected myself, I have proved myself so right-wing that I may be suspected of launching a nuclear attack on Iran.
I haven't been in Bristol for a number of years now,but...
ReplyDeleteDid they ever change the prominent local road names: Whiteladies Road and Blackboy Hill.
If not... why not??
Seems a shame to me that they could not change their plans and redevelop St. Paul's instead.
ReplyDeleteI presume the spokesperson from that area quoted in the article would not have been in this country at all were it not for the movement of people some centuries ago. Conditions of travel may not have been so good but then they were not exactly great for large numbers of people, sailors of the Royal Navy for example.
Ultimately the opportunities which came about in the New World have proved, in the main, somewhat better than those afforded to the numbers not transported. It may have taken a while to develop that way but then we humans tend to thing that long maturing is a positive thing.
The downside of all the activity, (and I suppose Bristol, as the recipient of the traded goods from the West Indies, must take some of the blame.) is the creation of rap music and a few similar cultural evolutions which do little or nothing for the human cause.
I would suggest a good and locally relevent alternative might be Scrumpy Acres. Or, in deference to the trade which made the Cheddar area wealthy a few centuries ago, Sheepland. Or even Sherry Trifle.
A pedant writes: FF Fortescue claims "Furthermore, maybe these people should have a go at Liverpool and London as well as Bristol as both these ports imported far more slaves into the UK than Bristol ever did, I seem to remember one figure quoted of Liverpool 750,000, Bristol 25,000" I don't know wher these numbers come from, but at least as far as Liverpool's concerened, they're phoney. Few if any slaves were imported into Liverpool or any British port. The Slave Trade "Triangle" ran thus: manufactured goods to Africa, where they were exchanged for slaves who were transported to the West Indies to work in plantations prodicing sugar which was exported to Liverpool etc., which was then sold to pay for manufactured goods, which were sent to Africa and so on Ad Wiberforcium. Numerous Africans did arrive in Liverpool, but these were for the most parts family servants for people who had interests in the West Indies, and not part of the slave trade.
ReplyDelete'Railwayman' writes "If these people don't like the name they can always leave and go back to the land of their forefathers. They are not forced to stay here" My strong suspicion is that the politically-correct morons who are making the most noise about this are as white as me and, I suspect, 'Railwayman'.
Re
ReplyDelete"I am actually rather pleased they have dropped the name, because of the endless abuse there would have been of the humble apostrophe therein. The spelling "Merchants' Quay" would of course never be permitted anyway by the hard-left loonies at Bristol Council, since correct grammar is elitist and a tool of the Nazis. "
I added the apostrophe...the Nanny brigade hadn't even thoguht of it!
Ken
Erm, excuse me, but was not Great Britain (the UK) one of the first nations to outlaw slavery and one of the most robust in the attempts to eliminate it?
ReplyDeleteAll this seems to be conveniently forgotten by some people. Wilberforce anyone?
Regards
Bill
Anon - my thoughts exactly. I live about 15 miles north of Bristol, and very often drive down Blackboy Hill and Whiteladies Road...
ReplyDeleteWhat are they going to do? Change the names to "Afro-Carribean Juvenile Male Hill" and "Caucasian Female Of Social Standing Road"?
Tossers, the lot of them.
Ah, I see what Paulo is saying. Though there cannot be too any people who remembeer that far back.
ReplyDeleteThe entire area is awash with signs of those dreadful times. Makes me wonder why any of those who may have links to the traded ones would ever want to live there.
I fancy the place should be razed to the ground and turned into some sort of memorial park compete with letters of apology from all the members of the current government.