A Complex Legacy
Introduction:
When we speak about slavery and colonialism, the conversation is often loaded with emotion and moral superiority. Statues are toppled, reparations are debated, and historical records are contested. Contemporary discussions tend to highlight the European Atlantic slave trade and modern colonial empires as particularly destructive and uniquely Western in nature. However, Jeremy Black’s A Brief History of Slavery (2011) and Nigel Biggar’s Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning (2023) encourage us to step back and see the broader picture. When read together, they challenge common polarizing assumptions and offer a more nuanced, honest, and balanced perspective on these complex issues.
Opening Question: Current Knowledge and Belief
Through previous biblical contextual study, I believed that slavery has existed since antiquity. I have known that, culturally, it was perceived as beneficial to both the slave and the owner. In some cases, people entered into a contractual agreement because it secured financial security for them. In the Biblical context, God commanded Israel to set slaves free every 50 years. The emancipation of slaves and property is known as The Year of Jubilee. I believe that it indicates that, while slavery was allowed in their cultural context, it never reflected God’s best for humanity.
I have had some experience with Colonialism and its effects in South Africa. Two of my great-grandfathers participated in British military campaigns in South Africa during the late nineteenth century, a period marked by imperial expansion and conflict. Their marriages to individuals of mixed ethnicity in South Africa reflect the complex social dynamics that emerged under colonial rule, often resulting in racial hierarchies. Growing up in South Africa gave me a distaste for Colonialism. However, South Africa did benefit from things such as education, health care, and economic wealth.
As well, my study of missiology has developed my understanding of the entanglement between missionary activity and colonial enterprise. Many missionaries, despite their good intentions, contributed to confusion by aligning the gospel with imperial ideology. This fusion often resulted in the imposition of Western norms and values upon indigenous culture. This practice is frowned upon today, and many of our missionaries are trained to engage in contextually appropriate ways of presenting Christ.
Core Question: The Global and Ongoing Reality of Slavery
My current understanding of slavery is that it might be worse in our world today than it ever has been. As of 2025, global estimates indicate that approximately 46 million individuals are subjected to conditions that constitute modern slavery, encompassing forced labor, human trafficking, debt bondage, and other exploitative practices. This figure underscores the persistent and evolving nature of slavery in the modern era. As of 2025, it’s estimated that approximately 46 million people are living in some form of slavery across the globe.[1]
Specifically, the church I pastored partnered with a Christian non-governmental organization operating in Cambodia, which focused on the rescue and rehabilitation of trafficked youth. Through this I became aware of the mechanisms of exploitation and the multifaceted approaches required for effective intervention.
Understanding slavery in a historical and global context doesn’t remove the guilt of our sin, but it does help us understand the pervasiveness of the issue. When historic evils are selectively remembered and modern-day practices are overlooked, we risk becoming self-righteous. In doing so, we become blind to our own guilt and risk perpetuating similar patterns of enslavement.
Core Question: Religion, War, and Counterfactual History
Walking the Camino de Santiago, you’ll encounter countless depictions of St. James, some serene, some triumphant, and one that repels most modern pilgrim tracks. The statues of Santiago Matamoros, or St. James the Moor Slayer is depicted with sword raised and charging into battle. This image isn’t just religious, it’s political, historical, and deeply symbolic. Legend has it that St. James miraculously appeared to help Christian forces defeat Muslim armies during the Reconquista. Over time, this warrior-saint became more than a miracle story; he became a national icon, a rallying point for Spanish identity, and a justification for centuries of conflict aimed at reclaiming the Iberian Peninsula from Islamic rule. It’s a powerful reminder of how religious figures can be reimagined to serve political ends.
In Canada, the residential schools have been damned as evil. Most Canadians would view them this way. Yet, Biggar argues, “Notwithstanding their failings, and the suffering caused by them, the schools were founded on a belief in essential racial equality and consequent faith in the capacity of native people to learn, adapt and develop.”[2] These schools have a complex history, that require more a more nuanced view of history, politics, war, and religion.
As leaders engage these issues, they must navigate the tension between moral accountability and historical complexity. They must embrace curiosity about the symbols, institutions, and narratives of the culture. A responsible engagement demands not only condemnation of injustices but also a critical examination of the intentions, contexts, constraints, and legacies that shaped them, fostering a discourse that is both biblically grounded and historically informed.
Core Question: The Costs and Benefits of Colonialism
British Colonialism had no single unifying theme or motive. There was no playbook or strategic plan to conquer the world. Rather, Biggar highlights, “There was no essential motivation behind the British Empire.”[3]
Biggar, however, acknowledges grave wrongs. He admits, “Slavery was evil, and the racism that grew with it was real and destructive.”[4] Yet, he argues that this is not the whole story. Colonialism also brought benefits such as education, medical aid, justice, and suppressing violence.[5] Most importantly, Britain committed itself to ending the slave trade at a significant cost. He notes, “The British taxpayer and the Royal Navy bore immense costs to abolish slavery worldwide, long after economic self-interest might have dictated withdrawal”[6]
Biggar critiques what he sees as our society’s selective moral memory. Provocatively, he argues, “Our present obsession with European colonial guilt is curiously parochial, given that empire has been the default mode of political organisation throughout human history”[7]. His concern is not to justify colonialism, but to prevent a one-sided narrative.
Leaders must move beyond polarized debates to a more informed reckoning with the past. The lesson is clear for leaders that engaging with the past requires balance, breadth, objectivity, and integrity. As Biggar insists, “to acknowledge wrongdoing is not to deny good.”[8] And Black reminds us, slavery is not a Western sin alone, typically associated with the Atlantic Slave trade, but a human one that has been prevalent in every society and persists today.
Closing Question: What Do I Believe Now and Why?
My reading of these books has provided me with a broader and more informed understanding of the hot-button issues. When read syntopically, Black and Biggar converge in two primary ways that were obvious to me.
First, they provide me with a historic and global scope. Black emphasizes the global prevalence of slavery.[9] Biggar, on the other hand, stresses the ubiquity of empire.[10]
Secondly, both authors help me resist Eurocentric blame narratives. They refuse to acknowledge that non-Europeans were passive victims. They both highlight the role of human agency and participation in slavery and colonialism. Taken together, these works help me to resist the reduction of history into simple binaries of oppressor and oppressed.
Both suggest that when I reckon with history, I must be cautious not to weaponize the injustices of the past but to honestly recognize them, while transforming them into a future vision. Whatever vision I have of the future must hold many things in dynamic
[1] “Countries That Still Have Slavery 2025,” World Population Review, accessed September 21, 2025, https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-that-still-have-slavery.
[2] Biggar, Colonialism, 172.
[3] Biggar, Colonialism, 34.
[4] Biggar, Colonialism, 78.
[5] Biggar, Colonialism, 112.
[6] Biggar, Colonialism, 156.
[7] Biggar, Colonialism, 79.
[8] Biggar, Colonialism, 211.
[9] Black, A Brief History of Slavery, 3–5.
[10] Biggar, Colonialism, 29.
About the Author
Graham English
I was born in Cape Town, South Africa 30 minutes from Table Mountain, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. My family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada where I spent my teen years, met Wendy, and got married. We now live on the Canadian prairies in northern Alberta. I think God has a sense of humour. I'm a follower of Jesus, work in leadership and church development, love my family and walk a lot.2 responses to “A Complex Legacy”
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great post Graham. Thanks for weaving in your own story to the larger narrative of our world today, and your work in modern day slavery. As someone who works with pastors, how do you curate conversations around these issues for pastors to wrestle with? What sorts of questions ought they ponder?
Hi Graham, thank you for your post.
In what ways can leaders responsibly engage with the complex legacies of colonialism and missionary activity without reducing history to simplistic narratives of oppression or virtue?