Edward Colston, Nostalgia and Resistance: How Does Britain (Mis)Remember and (Re)Imagine Colonialism?

Oliver, Adele

Abstract

The toppling of the Edward Colston statue by Black Lives Matter protestors in Bristol became one of the defining moments of the British summer of 2020. The removal of the statue reignited conversations around how Britain conceptualises colonialism and empire today. This paper seeks to evaluate and contextualise these conversations and argues that the toppling of the statue was an act of anti-colonial theatricality that disrupted Britain’s official narratives of post-colonial bliss. Using a critical, postcolonial framework, this paper seeks to explore what public memory of Edward Colston reveals about Britain’s relationship with colonialism, and what countermemory can do to resist (mis)remembrance and (re)imagining of colonialism, past and present.

Citation

Oliver, A. (2022). Edward Colston, Nostalgia and Resistance: How Does Britain (Mis)Remember and (Re)Imagine Colonialism?. SOAS journal of postgraduate research, 14(2020-2021), 70-89. https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAS.00037054

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Apr 12, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 12, 2022
• Journal: SOAS journal of postgraduate research
• Print ISSN: 2631-3812
• Electronic ISSN: 2517-6226
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 2020-2021
• Pages: 70-89
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAS.00037054
• Keywords: Edward Colston, Bristol, postcolonialism, resistance, counter-memory, statues, public memory
• Publisher URL: https://www.soas.ac.uk/research/soas-journals-and-books/soas-journal-postgraduate-research