Between 1672 and 1689, Edward Colston used his ships to bring more slaves from Africa for auction in America.
Protesters in Bristol, in southwest England, tied the bronze statue of Edward Colston with rope before toppling it to cheers from the surrounding crowd. The 5.5-metre bronze statue had stood on Colston Avenue since 1895 as a memorial to his philanthropic works, an avenue he developed after divesting himself of links to a company involved in the selling of tens of thousands of slaves.
Slave trader #EdwardColston statue has been toppled down by #BlackLivesMatter protestors in #Bristol. Colston made his fortune by shipping about 80 000 men, women and children from Africa to sell them in America. Done beautifully pic.twitter.com/gvEeg7lOBf
— Stop Labour Brokers (@scelo_mncwango) June 8, 2020
It is believed that Colston made all his money from slaves trade and later moved to money lending. He sold his shares in the company to William, Prince of Orange, in 1689 after the latter had orchestrated the Glorious Revolution and seized power from James in 1688.
#Bristol statue of Edward Colston has been pulled down and pushed into the harbour during the #BlackLivesMattter march pic.twitter.com/ME1yxAhw7G
— BBC Radio Bristol (@bbcrb) June 7, 2020
According to the The Guardian report, Colston later began to develop a reputation as a philanthropist who donated to charitable causes such as schools and hospitals in Bristol and London. He briefly served as a Tory MP for Bristol before dying in Mortlake, Surrey, in 1721. He is buried in All Saints Church in Bristol.
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