Portugal may have to pay compensation for its legacy of slavery, this is the opinion of historian Manuel Barcia, assuming that all politicians fear the issue.
The professor of Universal History Manuel Barcia, specialized in slavery in the Atlantic, defended in statements to Lusa that the fear of paying possible compensation has prevented Portugal and other states from apologizing for slavery.
On April 25, the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, defended that Portugal owes an apology, but above all it must assume full responsibility for exploitation and slavery in the colonial period.
“The problem is that yes [Portugal] Excuse me, you are putting yourself in a position, from a legal standpoint, where you may have to pay compensation.”stressed Manuel Barcia this Wednesday, after a conference held in Macao.
“Politicians everywhere are very afraid of this,” said the professor at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, pointing to the case of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who last week refused to apologize for his role. the country into slavery. trade.
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A formal apology from the Portuguese state would be “a small thing after everything that happened”, defended Manuel Barcia.
“But the answer must be given by the people who descend from slaves. They are the ones who have to say if they need” an apology, added the Cuban academic.
The position of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was assumed in the speech of the solemn commemorative session of the 49th anniversary of April 25 in the Assembly of the Republic, regarding the welcoming session for the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva.
“This also helps us look back on Brazil. But it would also be possible with respect to all colonization and decolonization, and take full responsibility for what we have done, ”he considered.
“It’s not just about apologizing, no doubt because of what we’ve done, because apologizing is sometimes the easiest thing to do, you apologize, you turn your back and the job is done. No, it is taking responsibility for the future of what we did in the past, good and bad, ”he defended.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa recalled that the colonization of Brazil had “the bad side, the exploitation of the original peoples, denounced by António Vieira, slavery, the sacrifice of the interests of Brazil and of the Brazilians.”
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“The worst of our presence that we have to assume just as we assume the best of that presence. And the same can be said of the best and the worst, the worst and the best of our presence in the empire throughout the entire colonization, ”he added. Manuel Barcia also argued that it was only due to pressure from the United Kingdom that Portugal completely abolished slavery in 1869.
despite Portugal being the first European country to abolish the importation of slaves, in 1761the measure only covered colonies in India and the mainland, where there was “very little” anti-slavery sentiment, the academic said.
Barcia also recalled that, despite the abolition, Portugal continued to allow, from Macao, the Chinese trade, in conditions of debt slavery, to the American continent, including Cuba.
Source: Observadora
