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UK HISTORIAN DAVID Starkey is facing a backlash after he said slavery was not genocide because there are “so many damn blacks” still around.
The historian made the comments during an online interview with Brexit campaigner Darren Grimes for YouTube channel Reasoned UK.
Former Chancellor Sajid Javid has criticised him over his remarks.
Mr Javid said: “We are the most successful multi-racial democracy in the world and have much to be proud of.
“But David Starkey’s racist comments (‘so many damn blacks’) are a reminder of the appalling views that still exist.”
Fitzwilliam College at Cambridge University said they would be considering Starkey’s position as an honorary fellow as a result of his comments.
In a statement, the college said they will “not tolerate racism”, adding that his comments are “indefensible”.
Starkey has also resigned from the board of the Mary Rose Trust, which oversees the Tudor Mary Rose ship, according to the organisation.
The trust said in a statement that they were “appalled” by his comments, adding: “Mary Rose Trust is a charity that exists for the benefit of everyone and we have zero tolerance for such comments.”
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s chief executive Olivia Marks-Woldman also criticised his comments.
She said: “To suggest a genocide did not take place because some of those who were persecuted survived is dangerous, damaging and completely reprehensible.
His words are abhorrent and as a historian with a considerable platform and following, David Starkey’s irresponsible and racist views should be widely condemned.
During the interview, Starkey said:” Slavery was not genocide otherwise there wouldn’t be so many damn blacks in Africa or in Britain, would there?
“An awful lot of them survived and again there’s no point in arguing against globalisation or western civilisation. They are all products of it, we are all products of it.
The honest teaching of the British Empire is to say quite simply, it is the first key stage of our globalisation. It is probably the most important moment in human history and it is still with us.
Grimes later released a statement about his interview, saying he “wasn’t engaged enough” in the conversation.
Darren Grimes / Twitter
Darren Grimes / Twitter / Twitter
He added: “It goes without saying that Reasoned UK does not support or condone Dr David Starkey’s words.
“I am very new to being the interviewer rather than the interviewee and I should have robustly questioned Dr Starkey about his comments.
“However, whether it’s on the BBC, ITV, Sky News or on YouTube, no interviewer is responsible for the views expressed by their guests.”
Starkey has been contacted for comment.
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Would he say the same about ‘Irish people’ and ‘famine’?
@David A. Murray: He referred to Ireland, Scotland & Wales as feeble little countries.
@David A. Murray: He probably would, what a despicable human being.
@David A. Murray: Jesus, that’s a fairly self-centred view, not everything is about your world view.
@James Brady: My point was that racism is racism.
@David A. Murray: no … actually he has very little positive if any nice things to say about our very white washed genocide (not famine) of the Irish between 1845 -1850… consider this… we were the breadbasket of the British empire at the time…
@Emma Fitzpatrick: Just like in Africa where black slave owners sold black slaves on to ships bound for the Americas at the time, there were Irish Catholic land owners who sold their crops yields on to Britain while their fellow countryman starved. Human nature is human nature, regardless of skin colour.
@David A. Murray: really! Just deal thing the article no need to make up stuff!
Genocide (noun); “the deliberate killing of a large group of people.”
The Nazi extermination of the Jews was a Genocide, Slavery may be morally repugnant but it’s not a genocide.
Slavery is appalling; we should be glad that we live a part of the World that has eliminated Slavery and we should recognise that slavery in various forms continues exist in most of the World. According to the International Labour Organisation the only countries to completely eliminate slavery are in Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand (i.e. the West).
Where are the Journal articles about the 40 million slaves that exist in the World today? Can the Journal displace some of its daily articles criticising Western culture to make room for articles about the continued existence of Slavery in Africa, Middle East and Asia?
@Fintan O’flaois: whataboutery central
@Fintan O’flaois: Nice bit of whatsboutery. First-class stuff.
@Fintan O’flaois:
Commenter: There are millions of slaves in the world today, what about their lives?
Replies: What about them.
@Fintan O’flaois: that man’s logic was different and his tone and words were inexcusably insulting.
Slavery is abolished everywhere in the world, there are slaves not because it’s legal, but because some countries have no legislation to criminalize slavery, making difficult or impossible to persecute it. Same goes with developed countries, we don’t have legislation that criminalize companies that have slavery in their supply chains (our food, cloths, phones, computers, cars, etc.), so we can’t say we’ve eliminated slavery, we’ve just outsourced it.
@Fintan O’flaois: It shows up the blatant double-standards of today’s virtue-signalling “activism” for what it is.
They are intent on making the current-day western world citizens responsible/guilty/shamed for acts carried out by generations long gone, but are perfectly smug in ignoring similar acts carried out in today’s world that exists outside of the west. If you dare point out this you’re banging a “whataboutery” drum.
Would not have expected much less from this dinosaur.
@Martin O’Reilly: so you expected more from him ?
@WCS:
And he calls himself a Historian? Really??
Why with everything going on would you come out with a comment like that?
@aidan mccormack: Racists gonna be racist.
@aidan mccormack: Real racists don’t believe they are wrong in what they say, and say what’s on their minds anyway.
The British empire the only empire that committed genocide and war crimes on all 5 continents and still tries to portray themselves as the good guys in history.
@Michael McGrath: Not sure about South America but I’ll definitely give them 4/5 or would it be 5/6 if we include ourselves?
@Michael McGrath: but there are 7 continents so how is it all at 5?
@Craic_a_tower: well I was counting the americas as one and Antarctica isn’t inhabited but if you want to be pedantic I suppose 5 from 6 inhabited continents
@James Walsh: British Guyana
@Michael McGrath: No, they have achieved 6 out of 6
@Michael McGrath: so simply put you were wrong and made up your own definition of what the continents actually are. It isn’t so much pedantic to point that out because nobody knew which ones you were leaving out
The British also made plenty of efforts to take over Spanish colonies such as what is now Colombia.
The problem is the Brits haven’t faced up to their history. Could you imagine a German saying that about the Jews..
@Munster1: the brits wrote our history… how else did they get away with what happened.. and our so called leaders have kept the lie going…
The colonial beliefs of many English people. Odd concept because it applies to all people that weren’t successfully annihilated by attempted genocide. So the Jewish people also didn’t have a genocide event either according to him
Didn’t realise he was an appalling human being.
A once respected historian, now consigning himself to the same garbage heap that David Irving ended up on.
@Martin Moloney: I always found him pompous and unappealing despite his obvious expertise on Medieval England.
Wow to think people actually listen and respect weapons grade dick heads like him is impressive
After reading the Wolf Hall books I was flirting with the idea of reading his book on Henry XIII but that’s not going to happen now.
@Fifty Shades of Sé: Who is Henry XIII? I also see you received 6 Thumps-Up, doesn’t inspire me with confidence about the historical knowledge of some of the commenters on this thread. Now where did I leave me copy of The Sun?
@Jack Cass: We know he meant Henry VIII. Starkey has done loads of TV shows too – this shows that all of them are entirely tainted by racism and should be banned.
@Jack Cass: I did mean Henry VIII obviously. Just got the Roman numerals mixed up. Report me to the Roman Numeral Awareness Police by all means if you wish.
@Fifty Shades of Sé: I’m just proving a point about how easy it is to criticise, regardless of what the criticism is.
@Fifty Shades of Sé: I don’t currently have access to the Roman Numeral Awareness Police, as such. So I hope this will be of some help instead.
I am shocked that after the horrors of the 19th century there are so many darned Paddies and Maggies around.
and trying to justify it by saying the fist pump is “mainstream” what a vile devisive individual
Right. I say we all wash our hands of him and all his works and aim to outlive him.
@Fintan O’flaois: his logic was different and inexcusably insulting. According to him there would’ve been no genocide on jews because there are still too many damn jews in Israel and there in Germany.
Food we eat, the phones or computer we are using, the cloth we are wearing… there is slavery in those suppy chains. Until we don’t have laws that criminalize the acquisition of any product or service in which slavery have been involved, lets not be hypocrites, we have not eliminate slavery, we’ve just outsource it.
Ok Let’s burn his books.In a big pile outside the university along with the other books we don’t like. And let,s put all those Dinosaurs in a special camp for re-education and let’s etc etc etc etc.
@Jack Creegan: Let’s revive Mao’s red guards and sort out bad culture all over Europe. Where’s me copy of the little red book?
Reminds be of the time where there was a ‘Greatest Briton’ competition and all the UK celebrities put forward a candidate, the historian Richard Holmes puts forward Cromwell, cos you know pillage and murder was just the norm those’s days and the Irish should juts get over it.
Not a great thing to be saying
usa dropped 2.7 million tons of BOMBS on cambodia a neutral country and then POL POT got into power,
NOT A BIT OF SHAME BY USA,..
If ever read “SHE” by the British author H Rider Haggard, he describes a black man as looking similar to an Irish man driving a pig. Now the book is 100 or more years old but gives you a good idea of how entrenched racism was at the time.
The laughable part of it all is Darren Grimes, he supports the beliefs stated and he has him all over his social media and has worked with him for years
have your say