Reckoning with slavery remains an elite project in Britain
The public shows a studied lack of interest
AT TATE BRITAIN, in London, a crowd gathers in front of a painting. The Death of Major Peirson, 6 January 1781, shows a black soldier avenging the killing of a British officer during the French invasion of Jersey. The painter used this man to “symbolise the fierce loyalty of the empire”, explains the curator. This shows that the artist could rely on the public’s naivety, he suggests, for Britain at the time was “deeply involved in the slave trade”. “If we can be proud of the best moments in history…we must reflect on the worst.”
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Two centuries of forgetting”
Britain August 19th 2023
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