Making Colonialism Respectable

The National Museum of Scotland has been accused of ignoring the “violent” parts of Scotland’s history with a display that appears to praise Scottish colonial officers. A sign on display as part of the ‘Global Scots’ section in the Discoveries gallery describes Scots involved in colonialism as being motivated by “high principles and personal ambition”.

The text – titled Scottish connections - added that “for many Scots, the Empire presented a chance to build a career, fulfill a new a better life and make money”.

Nicola Perugini, a lecturer in International Relations at Edinburgh University, says “I felt there was something extremely unsettling with the idea of presenting settler colonialism as a ‘normal’ form of career development motivated by high principles. What would those who paid the price for colonialism and imperialism, and their descendants, some of whom live in our ‘postcolonial’ societies, think of such a way of framing their history of dispossession?

“I don’t know how deliberate the choice of the curator is of framing Scottish involvement in imperialism in this way. However, the effect is clearly one of normalising this involvement, and making it more acceptable to the non-critical public.”

Minna Liinpaa, editor of the book ‘No Problem Here: Racism in Scotland’, who is also PHD candidate in Nationalism at Glasgow University.says, “These kinds of continuing uncritical representations of the relationship between the British Empire, slavery and the role of Scots – as exhibited by this NMS display – are extremely damaging as they ignore and erase parts of Scottish history. You cannot understand the present without understanding the past, and we need to make sure we account for the uncomfortable and violent parts of Scotland’s past as well. This is extremely important from an anti-racist viewpoint.”

The historian Professor Sir Tom Devine of Edinburgh University ?and author of the book ‘Scotland’s Empire’ says "It is certainly the case that there were positive impacts in terms of some aspects of 19th century colonial administration, educational development and the role of Scots missionaries particularly in Africa. “However, there is a darker side to the story. And that aspect has been one of the foci of modern historical research, especially in relation to the Scottish role in slavery, the role of the Highland regiments in imperial expansion and the notoriety of Scots traders in the Canadian fur trade and the commerce in opium."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15847076.National_Museum_of_Scotland_in_colonialism_row_after___39_unsettling__39__exhibition/