Academics fear they might get mobbed and their career may be at risk if they stand up for the British Empire, an Oxford historian has said.
Nigel Biggar, regius professor of moral and pastoral theology at Oxford University’s Christ Church college, said most academics knew little about the country’s imperial past which has come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks.
The eminent professor, who currently leads a course on ‘Ethics and the Empire’ which explores both the positive and negative effects of the empire, went on to say that what academics did know was that it was ‘not fashionable to stand up for the British Empire’.
His comments come as councils and institutions across the country come under mounting pressure to remove controversial statues and monuments that have links to racism and colonialism amid the Black Lives Matter protests.
Nigel Biggar, regius professor of moral and pastoral theology at Oxford University’s Christ Church college, said academics feared being mobbed if they stood up for the British Empire
The professor, who leads a course on ‘Ethics and the Empire’, said most academics knew little about the country’s imperial past. Pictured: Christ Church College
The calls come as demonstrations continue to increase around the world after George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died after police officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on his neck in Minneapolis on May 25 for nearly nine minutes.
The professor told The Telegraph: ‘At the moment we have crowds of mainly young people marching down the streets, shouting and screaming. They give the impression of numbers and power but do they represent majority opinion?’
This week the governing body of Oxford University’s Oriel College said it would be removing the controversial statue of Cecil Rhodes, which is one of dozens of targets appearing on a list of statues Black Lives Matter protesters want to see taken down.
Critics argued Rhodes paved the way for the apartheid in southern Africa, and raised issue with his time as leader of the Cape Colony, from 1890 to 1896, when the government restricted black Africans’ rights by increasing the financial criteria people required in order to vote.
The college said in a statement: ‘The Governing Body of Oriel College has today voted to launch an independent Commission of Inquiry into the key issues surrounding the Rhodes statue.
‘They also expressed their wish to remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes and the King Edward Street Plaque. This is what they intend to convey to the Independent Commission of Inquiry.
The governing body of Oxford University’s Oriel College said it would be removing the statue of Cecil Rhodes this week
The statue of Cecil Rhodes stands outside Oriel College, following demonstrations for its removal amid the Black Lives Matter protests
Earlier this month, the statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston was torn down by protesters and thrown into the harbour
‘Both of these decisions were reached after a thoughtful period of debate and reflection and with the full awareness of the impact these decisions are likely to have in Britain and around the world.
‘The Commission will deal with the issue of the Rhodes legacy and how to improve access and attendance of BAME undergraduate, graduate students and faculty, together with a review of how the college’s 21st Century commitment to diversity can sit more easily with its past.’
The decision came just weeks after protesters tore down a statue of the 17th century slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.
Meanwhile the Bank of England yesterday confirmed it would remove the portraits of 11 former governors from its walls who profited from what it labelled the ‘inexcusable’ slave trade and owned a total of nearly 5,000 slaves.
However Professor Biggar, who is the director of Oxford’s McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life, said rational discussions needed to be held in regards to the removal of statues.
He continued: ‘The problem is that most academics know nothing about imperial history.
‘What they do know is that it’s not fashionable to stand up for the British Empire and they also get the impression that if you dare to that, like me, you get mobbed. If you are younger your career is at risk if you stand up for unfashionable causes.’
Police officers stand around the statue of the former Prime Minister Winston Churchill after is is unboxed
In 2017, Professor Biggar came under scrutiny over comments he had made in an opinion piece for The Times.
In the piece, the professor acknowledged that the British Empire was ‘morally mixed’ but said it had also provided law and order in other countries.
He said: ‘If on the other hand we recognise that the history of the British Empire was morally mixed, just like that of any nation state, then pride can temper shame.
‘Pride at the Royal Navy’s century-long suppression of the Atlantic slave trade, for example, will not be entirely obscured by shame at the slaughter of innocents at Amritsar in 1919.
‘And while we might well be moved to think with care about how to intervene abroad successfully, we won’t simply abandon the world to its own devices.’
Following his comments, more than 50 professors, lecturers and researchers signed an open letter rejecting the academic’s views.