By Rab Bruce’s Spider

New historical research has been unveiled documenting the Slave Trade and providing an insight into who owned how many slaves. It has created quite a stir and even Hollywood is affected, with actor Ben Affleck apparently feeling obliged to issue an apology because he had tried to conceal the fact that one of his ancestors was a slave owner. Quite why he should feel ashamed over the actions of someone he never knew is unclear but let’s come back to that issue in a moment.

Needless to say, the research has been leaped upon by Unionists because one of the revelations is that, per head of population, Scots owned more slaves than anyone from elsewhere in the UK. In some obscure way, this is supposed to demonstrate that Scots should want to remain part of the UK even though it is over one hundred and eighty years since the passing of the Abolition of Slavery Act in 1833.

As I’ve pointed out many times before, most people operate within the constraints and morality of the prevailing political system. Britain was a major slaving nation for a few centuries and Scots played their part in expanding the Empire just as others did. We might not like how they achieved this but imposing our morality on them is a futile exercise. If any of us had been alive two hundred years ago, slavery might well have seemed normal to us.

Like Ben Affleck, we can perhaps feel ashamed over what our ancestors did but that in no way reflects on us. We need to face up to these things and accept them as part of our history but that doesn’t mean we approve of slavery or, indeed, any of the other things the British Empire did to people throughout the world. We live in the present, not the past, and we should look to the future. The past is there to teach us how things should or should not be done but it doesn’t mean we need to dwell on it. That’s why the constant accusations from both sides in the IndieRef debate about who did what many years ago are pointless and irritating. Yes, The Daily Mail supported the Nazis, as did some early SNP leaders. So what? How does that affect the opinions and decisions that we make today except as guidance as to what mistakes not to make? It’s like holding the people of Norway responsible for the sacking of the monastery on Lindisfarne by Vikings in 793. It happened, it was dreadful, but how can we say today’s Norwegians bear any resemblance in thought and deed to the men who carried out that bloodthirsty attack?

But there is, as usual, another major flaw in the Unionist gloating over historical slavery records. For people who constantly hark back to the past, they don’t seem to understand the concept of viewing historical facts in a wider context. The claim is that Scots are somehow more evil than other British citizens because, per head of population, there were more Scottish slave owners than English or Welsh. While this seems to be perfectly true, all it really shows is that, as in so many other fields of human activity, Scots were more involved in leading the way and exploiting the circumstances of their day. For example, it is incontrovertible that, per head of population, there have been more Scottish inventors of major technological advances than other British citizens. It is also highly likely that, per head of population, more Scots were missionaries and explorers, that more Scottish soldiers were killed in conflicts overseas during the expansion of the British Empire, and that more Scots were involved in such activities as whaling and shipbuilding.

What this research shows is the ingenuity and application of Scottish individuals. Yet that same ingenuity and application is ignored by today’s Unionist commentators because they fear that, if it were to be put to use in the cause of developing an independent Scotland, it would prove their attachment to the "Too wee, too poor" mantra a falsehood.

So, while we should not attempt to hide or ignore the fact that Scots were involved in the Slave Trade, let’s also remember that modern Scotland is seeking to become a fairer, more inclusive society where people from all backgrounds and cultures are welcomed. Rather than beat ourselves up over the past, we should be proud of the fact that, per head of population, there are fewer UKIP voters in Scotland than elsewhere in the increasingly xenophobic UK.