Modern reappraisal
Accounts of Colston written in the nineteenth century were extremely positive, lauding him for his philanthropy and for his 'nobleness' of his spirit. In the opening sentences to Thomas Garrard's 1852 biography, the author cited Pliny the Elder:"It is the especial duty of an Historian, says Pliny, 'not to allow the memory of those men to sink into oblivion who have by their deeds merited an immortality of fame.' That immortality has seldom been awarded to the lot of a nobler Philanthropist than Edward Colston.[43]"The first critical biography was that by Rev. Henry J. Wilkins in 1920,[44] his being the first account to demonstrate that Colston was a slave trader.[45] Wilkins was also critical of Colston's extreme antipathy to nonconformists. In highlighting these defects, Wilkins suggested that "we cannot picture him justly except against his historical background".[46] Colston's involvement in the slave trade predated the abolition movement in Britain, and was during the time when "slavery was generally condoned in England—indeed, throughout Europe—by churchmen, intellectuals and the educated classes".[47]
Wilkins criticisms prompted a strong reaction from many in interwar Bristol who wanted to defend Colston's legacy, which was by this time commemorated annually in a Colston Day celebrations.[48] In 1925 Wilkins provided a further supplementary account of Colston's life with additional evidence of Colston's failings.[49] Noting evidence of his unscrupulousness in his business dealings, as well as charges of personal immorality, Wilkins proposed that:"I have urged (having regard to the unhistorical and ill-proportioned position Bristol has given to Edward Colston through the absence of documentary evidence and political partisanship with its charitable efforts) that Bristol should free herself from such a position, recall her heritage and rise to a true 'Commemoration' on November 13th in each year of the noble galaxy of benefactors and worthies of 'The Metropolis of the West.'[50]"Colston made money from trading in commodities and money lending as well as the slave trade;[51][52][53] the proportion of his wealth that came from his involvement in the slave trade and slave-produced sugar is not known.
Since at least the 1990s, with increasing recognition of Colston's role in the slave trade, there has been growing criticism of his commemoration.[54] The Dolphin Society, which was formed to continue Colston's philanthropy, as of 2015 referred to "the evils of slavery" and recognised that "black citizens in Bristol today can suffer disadvantage in terms of education, employment and housing for reasons that connect back to the days of the trans-Atlantic slave trade".[14]
In April 2017 the Bristol Music Trust, a charity that ran the "Colston Hall",[55] announced that it would drop the name of Colston after a 2020 refurbishment. There had been protests and petitions calling for a name change, and some concertgoers and artists had boycotted the venue because of the Colston name.[56] Following the decision almost 10,000 people signed petitions to retain the name of Colston,[57] but the hall was renamed as the Bristol Beacon in September 2020 after three years of consultation.[58] However after debate it was decided in 2023 that street names in Bristol bearing the name ‘Colston’ would remain,this included the road that the former Colston Hall now Bristol Beacon is situated which is Colston Street and the neighbouring Colston Avenue.
In November 2017, the Colston's Girls' School, funded by the Society of Merchant Venturers, initially announced that it would not drop the name of Colston, because it was of "no benefit" to the school to do so.[59] After later consultations in 2020 with staff and pupils the school changed its name to Montpelier High School.
In April 2018, the Lord Mayor of Bristol ordered that a portrait of Colston be removed from her office, saying that she would not "be comfortable sharing it with the portrait", planning that the portrait would later be hung in the proposed Museum of Abolition.[60]
In summer 2018, Colston Primary School renamed itself Cotham Gardens Primary School after consultation with pupils and parents.[61] In February 2019, St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School announced that it would rename its former Colston house after the American mathematician Katherine Johnson.[62]
In June 2020, the pub formerly known as the Colston Arms temporarily changed its name to Ye Olde Pubby McDrunkface (a reference to the name for a research vessel voted for by the public in 2016), inviting suggestions from the public for a new name;[63] in December 2021 the pub was renamed the Open Arms.[64]
In 2020, at the sight of the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol, a member of the organisational team for the event "was adamant that Colston's charitable deeds in no way made up for the transportation of thousands of Africans into slavery. 'The statue was glorifying the acts of a slave trader. He gave some money to schools and good causes but it was blood money', she said".[65]
Stained glass windows celebrating Colston have been removed at St Mary Redcliffe church and Bristol Cathedral.[66]
