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James Watt and slavery

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Morturn

Morturn

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Morturn said:
History West Midlands are just about to publish a podcast entitled: James Watt and slavery: The untold story.
A lot of folks see Watt as a champion of the industrial revolution, most certainly Birmingham Council see Watt as a Birmingham icon as with Tolkien. My personal views is that Watt was certainly a genius, but he also suppressed a lots of technological development with his sharp business practices and patents.
Historians create narratives of past events, but quite often these narratives change. Captain Scott, once a hero, later labelled as a bumbling bullying fool. Who is right I have no idea, but it certainly shows us to keep an open mind when it comes to historical narratives?
I will be looking forward to listening to this one.
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What is interesting about this article is that the facts are wrong! The fact are that Watt might have been a genius but if it was not for Matthew Boulton's business acumen we most likely would not have known much about Watt. His business actually failed. Additionally it was William Murdoch whose design took Watts engine to the next level. notice they all worked for Boulton.
If you look at Matthew Boulton's history you will find this to be true. Regarding sharp business practices and patents, welcome to the Industrial Revolution! I have over 50 years of factory automation and a number of patents, and oh by the way its still going on, patent protection! Ask the Chinese & Japanese.
 
Morturn said:
Not really understanding the point you are making here, what facts?
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My apologies, I should have been clearer...……..James Watt did not have sharp business acumen. It was Matthew Boulton that basically saved him from bankruptcy. That the use or patents to protect designs was the appropriate way to run a business and it is still that way today. That William Murdoch another Boulton employee was the inventor (and received credit) for taking Watts original invention to the next level. It too was protected by a patent.
I hope that helps.........
 
Not really. I said " My personal views is.... sharp business practices and patents". So how do you Watt did not have sharp business acumen?

I would have thought it was quite obvious that the story of James Watt, Matthew Bolton and William Murdock is vast, covering several decades, thousands of transaction and hundreds of associated people, Not even I could summeriase it in one paragraph.
 
The title of the podcast by Dr. Mullen is "James Watt and slavery: The untold story.” It concentrates on James Watt’s father and how the wealth of the family had been accrued. In Wikipedia for instance his father is described as a shipwright, ship owner and contractor, however Mullen delves deeper and describes him as Colonial transatlantic trader involved in goods produced by the slave trade.

His view is that James Watt should be viewed as an hypocrite, as he would later call slavery in the French Caribbean as disgraceful to humanity and call for its abolition, while actively being involved in his father’s business.

Whether you agree or disagree, the story must be told so we can make up our own minds
 
That’s how I feel about it, its not about being judgemental, it’s about a better understanding of the past.

I see it in the same way as how woman have been written out of history.
 
It's all academic anyway, it's going to change nothing except written history.
Some learn to their horror what their predecessors did, how they lived.
On slavery I watched one of the 'Who do you think you are?' programmes, the participant was of African descent and believed his family had been victims of the slave trade but when he delved deeper into his past discovered that his Africa relatives were themselves slave traders and had been instrumental in taking their own people from the jungle and selling them on to the slave ship operators.
 
I think if we look at many famous people they will all have some sort of skeleton in the cupboard. I find any information like this fascinating. I K Brunel was a flawed human being and Matthew Boulton married his wife's sister which was against the law at the time. I think these untold stories give us a far more rounded view of these figures from history and allow us to make up our own minds about them. A good education is the key and I wonder if Watt would have made such a mark on the world if he had not had his father's money behind him?
 
I suspect few families do not have some skeletons in the cupboard in one era or another. But that is human frailty I guess. I am quite uncomfortable with the trend to airbrush history. Forget history and there is every chance it will, eventually, be repeated. It seems a trend these days to airbrush events that some people dislike and object to, even if they were not involved themselves. I cannot comprehend the need to apologise for others, truthfully, I believe, you can only apologise for your own actions.
 
I suppose back in the day slavery was the norm, wether you were black African or white. Working in a factory for 18 hours a day for a pittance, or children working down a mine, are also some form of slavery. It`s almost certain that somewhere in this addled world slavery still goes on. Just my opinion.
 
Lady Penelope said:
I think if we look at many famous people they will all have some sort of skeleton in the cupboard. I find any information like this fascinating. I K Brunel was a flawed human being and Matthew Boulton married his wife's sister which was against the law at the time. I think these untold stories give us a far more rounded view of these figures from history and allow us to make up our own minds about them. A good education is the key and I wonder if Watt would have made such a mark on the world if he had not had his father's money behind him?
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Lady Penelope, an excellent summary!

Thank you...….
 
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