Row over statue of 'cruel' explorer Henry Morton Stanley
Plans to honour colonial explorer Henry Morton Stanley in his home town in Wales have been criticised by objectors who say his expeditions were cruel, racist and exploitative.
Residents of Denbigh hope to celebrate his legacy with a £31,000 bronze statue, but have been told by academics that their plan is "appalling".
Stanley was the Victorian explorer who trekked to the heart of Africa and greeted a fellow Briton with the words “Dr Livingstone, I presume?”
His supporters have raised the £31,000 needed to pay for the bronze monument, after a vote among residents of Denbigh found that a clear majority wanted to commemorate the town’s most famous son. A prime site has been chosen, a sculptor has been commissioned, and councils and the local Labour MP have lent their support.
But a group of up to 20 British and American academics is calling for the “appalling” project to be abandoned....
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
Residents of Denbigh hope to celebrate his legacy with a £31,000 bronze statue, but have been told by academics that their plan is "appalling".
Stanley was the Victorian explorer who trekked to the heart of Africa and greeted a fellow Briton with the words “Dr Livingstone, I presume?”
His supporters have raised the £31,000 needed to pay for the bronze monument, after a vote among residents of Denbigh found that a clear majority wanted to commemorate the town’s most famous son. A prime site has been chosen, a sculptor has been commissioned, and councils and the local Labour MP have lent their support.
But a group of up to 20 British and American academics is calling for the “appalling” project to be abandoned....