COUNCIL bosses in Edinburgh have published a proposed plaque that is set to be placed at the controversial statue of Henry Dundas – highlighting he was “instrumental in deferring the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade”. 

Edinburgh City Council has been discussing how to mark the controversial figure’s past at the prominent statue in the centre of St Andrew Square in the New Town. 

Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, worked to frustrate efforts to end the trade by using his influence as home secretary, setting the move back 15 years. 

Following the Black Lives Matter protests that have erupted across the globe, council bosses pledged to move quickly to address Dundas’ history. 

Council leader Adam McVey has stressed that the plaque to be placed next to the statue and 150-ft column is the first step “and won’t be the last” as the capital city addresses its past. 

READ MORE: Vandalised statue in Edinburgh to have plaque installed after wording agreed

A meeting was held between Mr McVey, senior councillors and Sir Geoff Palmer to agree the wording. Sir Geoff, professor emeritus at Heriot-Watt University, has appealed for plaques to be put up in order to give a more truthful account of historical figures. 

The proposed plaque will read: “On the plinth at the centre of St Andrew Square stands a neoclassical column with a statue at the top. This represents Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742 – 1811). He was the Scottish Lord Advocate and an MP for Edinburgh and Midlothian, and the First Lord of the Admiralty.  

“Dundas was a contentious figure, provoking controversies that resonate to this day. While Home Secretary in 1792 and first Secretary of State for War in 1796 he was instrumental in deferring the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. Slave trading by British ships was not abolished until 1807. As a result of this delay, more than half a million enslaved Africans crossed the Atlantic. Dundas also curbed democratic dissent in Scotland. 

“Dundas both defended and expanded the British empire, imposing colonial rule on indigenous peoples. He was impeached in the United Kingdom for misappropriation of public money and although acquitted, he never held public office again. Despite this, the monument before you to Henry Dundas was funded by voluntary contribution from officers, petty officers, seamen and marines and erected in 1821, with the statue placed on top in 1827. 

 “In 2020 this was dedicated to the memory of the more than half a million Africans whose enslavement was a consequence of Henry Dundas’s actions." 

It is set to be formally approved by councillors on Thursday. 

Mr McVey said: “This discussion will rightly continue and it’s important to listen to black and ethnic minority voices in our city in that discussion.  

“This is only one step of many in helping us talk about, understand and confront our history. It’s not the first step, and won’t be the last, but an important one nonetheless and I’m hopeful the committee will support this way forward.”   

He added: “I know there are many who would remove these statues and I know there are those, like Professor Geoff Palmer, who say ‘if you remove the evidence, you remove the deed’.  

“We need to make sure any steps we take serve to educate and highlight all sides of Edinburgh’s story – the good and the bad. We should not hide from that. It’s important to also recognise the issues we have now and in understanding our history, we can help tackle prejudice in Edinburgh in 2020.”