Oxford professor claims 'Brits feel guilt about the Empire' because they 'know nothing about it'

2 July 2023, 08:34

An Oxford Professor has claimed that British people feel guilty about their country's colonial past because they often know "nothing about it".

Professor Nigel Biggar, professor of moral and pastoral theology at the prestigious university added that feelings of "general guilt" linked to the British Empire are fuelling changes to reading lists at leading institutions.

Speaking at the Chalke Valley History Festival in Wiltshire, the Professor Biggar reflected on Britain's past amid ongoing conversations linked to Windrush reparations.

He added that the 2020 killing of George Floyd in the United States had "supercharged" the decolonisation movement, adding that on balance the British Empire had done some "very good stuff" as well as "very bad stuff".

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Listing his areas of interest as "ethics of empire, nationality, rights, war, assisted suicide & euthanasia, forgiveness & reconciliation", the professor, who also studied at the University, spoke of the issues raised by colonial conversations.

Speaking at the festival yesterday, he said: "[Decolonisation] has gained traction because of a general sense of guilt about the colonial past – which prevails in my view because most British people know nothing about it.

"That general guilt determines decisions in our cultural institutions – our museums, our universities, about handing back objects collected during the colonial period, about changing the content of reading lists, about abandoning Eurocentricity for global history and literature."

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The history festival, which takes place in Salisbury, Wiltshire, from Monday, June 26 to Sunday, July 2, also saw appearances from actor Tom Holland and former PM John Major.

The Daily Mail sponsored festival featured more than 200 talks on various historical topics across five different venues.

As part of his talk, Professor Biggar also suggested a Labour government would start paying financial compensation to former colonies.

"If and when we have a Labour government at the end of the next year, we can expect the issue of Britain paying reparations for slavery to rise up the agenda," he said.

It follows the news Oxford college was threatening to expel students who misgender or 'deadname' trans peers.

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