Bristol and the museum of the British Empire

A few years ago I visited Bristol for the first time. The city had only recently begun treating its past more openly (much of its wealth came from the slave trade and Caribbean sugar plantations), and it was interesting to see the new historical displays in the city's museums.
This openness to self-examination makes Bristol a particularly appropriate site for the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, which opened in November. Tellingly, the museum was a private venture; it would seem that British officialdom prefers to let sleeping dogs lie, promoting a present-day multiculturalism conveniently stripped of context. As the New York Times reports:

"As far as this institution is concerned, it is enough that we don't step back from the most uncomfortable periods of our national history and don't hide and duck the realities of history," Gareth Griffiths, the museum's director, said. "We're here as an institution that is collecting a history that was forgotten and was disappearing and, in the future, as a forum for presenting this history and encouraging debate."

With little of this history being taught in British schools today, the museum's first task may well be educational. Writing in The Times of London, Michael Binyon recalled that when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned, in 1953, Britain still ruled a quarter of the globe. "Not only has this imperial order vanished almost overnight, but it has disappeared entirely from public memory," he noted. "The British Empire is now a black hole in history, and few dare look into its depths."

There seems to be a broad consensus that the new museum does an excellent job of presenting its story in a balanced and judicious manner. Comments from those who have visited it are welcome. . . .

Posted by David on January 4, 2003 1:40 PM