It is time British schoolchildren were taught properly about the slave trade

The issue of Britain’s past has been the subject of many recent conversations with contacts all over the world, writes Bel Trew

Protesters throw a statue of Edward Colston into Bristol harbour during a Black Lives Matter protest rally (PA)

Few would have thought a statue of a 17th-century merchant in Bristol would interest revolutionaries abroad.

But this week several of my WhatsApp groups were ablaze with discussions about the video of anti-racism protesters throwing the statue of British slave trader Edward Colston into Bristol’s harbour.

Colston was a member of the Royal African Company, which transported about 80,000, men women and children, from Africa to the Americas as slaves. Part of this wealth from the slave trade helped build vast swathes of the city.