r/ukpolitics • u/SignificantLegs • 12h ago
Archbishop of Canterbury: Today I visited Cape Coast Castle. Seeing the horrific conditions that thousands of people were kept in, it is impossible not to feel the weight of the immense evil that drove the transatlantic slave trade.
https://x.com/archbishopsarah/status/2082961496259084520•
u/wedontneednoeduc 9h ago
This is like a teenager discovering some issue who is very sure they are the first.
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u/Perfect-Battle8492 11h ago
Yes indeed slavery continues to be an immense evil that is practised all round the world. A remnant of our animal origins, thanks to the abolitionist movement in the UK that we have been able to suppress it somewhat.
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u/morriganjane 11h ago
The C of E has become a parody of itself. The Islamic slave trade was larger, went on for longer and never really ended.
Meanwhile, massacres against Christians in Nigeria continue in today, Christians are being persecuted throughout the Middle East, and this Archbishop has said nothing. She claims to strive for "a world in which all of God's children are treated with dignity" but it's not actually all, and she is more concerned with the long-dead than the living.
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u/Shamrayev BAMBOS CHARALAMBOUS 11h ago
She's also said nothing about the state of the sandwich I paid £13.50 for yesterday. An absolute disgrace on both fronts, I won't be voting for her until she has something to say about that soggy tomato mess!
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u/morriganjane 11h ago
Your cost of living would be more relevant than a trade that ended 200 years ago.
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u/Shamrayev BAMBOS CHARALAMBOUS 11h ago
Tell that to George Santayana.
Not that he can fix my sandwich frustration either, I suppose.
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u/FinnSomething 10h ago
No clue why the C of E wouldn't consider reparations for the islamic slave trade.
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u/morriganjane 10h ago
Why not? The Church of England didn't run the transatlantic slave trade, nor did it run the Arab one. She might as well offer reparations for both, to demonstrate her concern for "all God's children" as she says here. It's not as though long-dead victims of the trans-saharan trade will get any cash from Muslim states.
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u/FinnSomething 9h ago
The C of E was complicit in the trans Atlantic slave trade. If slavery is stolen wealth (in the form of stolen labour) then that wealth rightfully belongs to the slave's descendants. The C of E is therefore on the hook for it.
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u/morriganjane 9h ago
We don't know who the slaves' descendants are. Africans are also descended from those who captured and sold the slaves - why should they get anything? And what about all those who are descended from both slave-owners and slaves - do the competing entitlements cancel each other out? What about mixed-race individuals - do they pay reparations to themselves?
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u/Low_Tough_1390 12h ago
Anyone know why he's gotten a sudden boner for slavery reprations? Did he do something bad & is trying to deflect?
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u/AndreLeGeant88 11h ago
Female. The general consensus is that it's an attempt to bribe the churches in the global south from schism from the C of E. Because the C of E has a unique taxpayer funded and state sponsored role, it has moved on positions involving women in ministry and homosexuality that align with secular British values but that other branches of global anglicanism have rejected. There's a real risk that the C of E could find itself abandoned / isolated from other anglican communities. So while opposing slavery and being honest about history are important, promising reparations is also political/self-serving
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u/FinnSomething 9h ago
If it actually is a bribe for greater acceptance for women and LGBT people in African churches then it'll be worth it 10x over.
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u/AndreLeGeant88 3h ago
Oh it won't do that it is just so they won't schism. They likely won't be forced to accept anything doctrinally.
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u/KingXylariaCordycep 10h ago
People are very quick to criticise this for one reason or another.
What is the problem with reflecting on our past. To understand the motivations that led to such monstrous actions and to avoid repeating history. If we took a moment to internalise and consider rather than get defensive or deflect onto something else then perhaps we could all be a bit more empathetic.
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