Residents blast decision to remove Hans Sloane memorial

Residents blast decision to remove Hans Sloane memorial

2 September 2020

PEOPLE in Killyleagh have expressed shock and anger at the decision to remove a memorial to Sir Hans Sloane at the British Museum in London.

The museum in London has removed a bust of Killyleagh’s most famous son due to his links with the slave trade.

The museum says the bust has been placed in a secure cabinet and that Sir Hans will now be described as a “collector and slave owner” on signage.

The move comes in the wake of protests by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Sir Hans was born in Killyleagh in 1660 and married the daughter of a Jamaican sugar plantation owner, who kept slaves. There is a statue of him erected near the town’s harbour.

Protesters claim his extensive collection, which formed the basis of the British Museum, was acquired from money acquired from dealing in sugar and slaves.

However, a number of prominent people in Killyleagh have spoken out in his defence.

Killyleagh historian Clive Scoular says people should not lose sight of the fact that Sir Hans Sloane was of his era. 

“I have always been very impressed by his life,” Mr Scoular said. “He did live in the 1600s and times then were clearly very different to what we understand of the modern world today. He did so much good work.

“Sir Hans set up a medical practice after travelling in the 1680s. He helped find inoculations for diseases, and after doing so he treated everyone who required these medicines as equal. It did not matter to him what class of person they were. He was actually a very pioneering man in his treatment.”

Mr Scoular said that in many ways, what we knew already about Sloane has not changed.

He added: “We knew slavery was a part of it. But to focus on this now as the over-riding narrative of his life is revisionism in full flow.

“Society generally included slavery then. Sir Hans never had a slave. Lots of people would prefer still today, to look at the good things he did, and that is what I believe we should focus on.”

Local SDLP councillor Terry Andrews says the continued existence of monuments such as Sloane’s statute in Killyleagh, can be a focal point for debate.

“Statues such as these can act as a reminder of what went before and we should always be mindful that the people were very much of their time,” he said. “They should remain as an educational tool for younger people.”

Councillor Andrews removing statues raised the question of where to stop. 

“Lots of things historically were built on slavery, or things that were wrong,” he said.

“I absolutely understand the concerns of some people, who may think it is best such tributes are removed.

“However education is the key here. The world that the likes of Sir Hans Sloane lived in was very different to the one we are in today. We can, in the modern day, learn from what the people of that era did.”

Local DUP councillor William Walker said he was outraged at the thought of the statue in Killyleagh being removed.

He said Sir Hans Sloane had an intrinsic link with the town’s identity and its economy.

“I was sad firstly when I heard the debate about removing the statue, and then that sadness turned to anger,” Cllr Walker remarked.

“We know the history of Sir Hans Sloane, and his legendary role in chocolate and medicine. 

“Whilst what has happened in America is wrong, the village of KIllyleagh promotes itself on Sir Hans Sloane. We have several streets named after him. However I welcome the debate, because we need to educate people.”

Councillor Walker said the feeling in Killyleagh was that the statue should remain.

“Removing symbols is not going to deal with the problem of slavery, which by the way is also a modern-day problem.”

He added: “Anyone in the town I have spoken to is outraged that Sir Hans should be dealt with in this way. Sir Hans Sloane married into a family involved in slavery, but he did not dabble in it himself.”