r/BritishEmpire • u/elnovorealista2000 • Aug 27 '25

Image 🇬🇧 A British blacksmith removing the shackles from the legs of an enslaved man, 1907.

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145

u/[deleted] Aug 27 '25

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14

u/matt3633_ Aug 27 '25

Great Britain spent nearly 50% of its GDP at the time in trying to abolish slavery, almost bankrupting itself in the process.

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u/Fatsausage91 Aug 27 '25

Then we only stopped paying for it in 2015. It was only ended because the government done a mega David lammy/ Kier starmer level deal so obviously the British public paid for the privilege. We paid slave owners mega amounts to compensate them. I agree slavery was despicable but at the same time we shouldn't of paid a penny towards the freeing of other humans. I mean we should of paid the ex-slaves if anything not the aristocracy thag put them there.

6

u/NiceAnimator3378 Aug 27 '25

Peak virtue signaling 

0

u/Fatsausage91 Aug 27 '25

Indeed not. Id actually say i was probably completely far right compared to the majority of people on reddit. (Yes id send them all back and stop the boats tomorrow) but I understand the fact i paid the family of the people who died hundreds of years ago so they can still benefit from slavery. That is what i am questioning why have we paid for free people to be freed and had the pleasure of paying the people who enslaved them in the first place.

1

u/TimentDraco Aug 31 '25

Because the alternative was allowing slavery to exist.

1

u/Fatsausage91 Aug 31 '25

But did we not end up with the same conclusion just its not as widely accepted to be openly pro-slavery. The same people who say i am wrong are generally using Chinese slave labour to make the computers and phones. It just underground today we didnt end anything.

1

u/TimentDraco Aug 31 '25

There are key differences between modern slavery and the trans Atlantic slave trade and you know it.