His new book, “Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning”, is determinedly revisionist and provocative, often foolhardy and sometimes just banal
True to form, “Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning” takes aim at the verities of the left-leaning academic establishment—in particular the modish academic discipline of post-colonial studies. The book is determinedly revisionist and provocative, often foolhardy and sometimes just banal.
This is a hoary way for Britons to fend off post-imperial guilt: however reprehensible they were, many told themselves for decades, someone else was worse. Self-serving as it seems, Professor Biggar wants to recover this sense of moral superiority. In that way, he writes, the empire can give those “who identify ourselves with Britain cause for lament and shame”, but also “cause for admiration and pride”.
Somewhat astonishingly, exhibit A in Professor Biggar’s defence of the empire is the slave trade. He knows Britain was heavily involved in this world-historical evil . But the British, he says, also resolved to abolish the trade, and subsequently theitself. Recent historians have rightly focused on the role of slave rebellions in bringing about abolition in the Caribbean.
As for the widespread bloodshed and repression: with the tone of a dogged barrister, Professor Biggar tackles some of the most notorious incidents in a bid to show that, even at its worst, the empire was not “wantonly violent”. For instance, he argues thatof Benin City in present-day Nigeria was in part justified by a desire to end slavery and human sacrifice there. In this account, the killing and looting that ensued were collateral damage.
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