One of the most straightforward and achievable things Britain could do to acknowledge its colonial history honestly is to ensure that history is taught honestly in schools. The current national curriculum treatment of slavery and colonialism is incomplete in ways that serve nobody well.
Students in British schools currently receive a version of this history that typically covers the Atlantic slave trade, often including Wilberforce and the abolitionist movement, but rarely includes the African context: the role of African kingdoms in supplying the trade, the Arab slave trade, the comparative record of other European nations, or the full story of the West Africa Squadron. The result is a partial narrative that, however uncomfortable, does not give students the tools to engage seriously with the reparations debate or with their country’s actual history.
Honest teaching would not be anti-British. It would acknowledge what Britain did, acknowledge what Britain eventually did to end it, and acknowledge the full complexity of the history rather than selecting the elements that fit a predetermined moral narrative. Students who understand the complete picture are better equipped to form their own views than students who have been given a simplified version designed to produce particular conclusions.
This is achievable without any payment to anyone. It requires curriculum reform, teacher training, and the will to engage with difficult history in classrooms. Several organisations already produce high-quality educational materials on these topics. The question is whether the political will exists to use them.
