TIL that in 1833 Britain used 40% of its national budget to free all slaves in the Empire. The loan for the Slavery Abolition Act was so large that it was not paid off until 2015. ( www.aaihs.org )

sp3tr4l ,

Summary points:

The loan likely took so long because they kept refinancing it.

They paid the slaveholders. Not the slaves. This was not reparations to the enslaved for centuries of slavery...

In fact, they actually paid roughly half price for each slave and uh forced the former slaves to work as apprentices for 4 to 6 years to cover the rest of the cost. These apprentices received no compensation.

And then basically the entire history of the abolitionist movement in the UK was whitewashed, written about white abolitionists, many of whom were a ok with other forms of imperialism and colonialism, often directly profiting from it personally.

vk6flab ,
@vk6flab@lemmy.radio avatar

Those kind hearted poms..

Also remember all the shit that they stole, the atrocities they committed, and (continues to) lie about, from all of their colonies.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has a TV and Radio documentary series called "Stuff The British Stole"

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