WAL3-Nelson and the Slave Trade- Chris Brett

4 February: Chris Brett : Nelson and the Slave Trade

In recent times Lord Nelson has been accused of being a supporter of slavery and the slave trade. Using previously unpublished material, Chris Brett examines those claims and reveals a conspiracy, by the West Indian planters, to use Nelson's posthumous, heroic reputation to influence debates in parliament on the abolition of the slave trade. To that end the planters took a private letter sent by Nelson to plantation owner Simon Taylor of Jamaica and forged it to suit their case. These forged versions of the letter were in wide circulation in the run up to the parliamentary debates and they still shape and influence opinion today.

Chris Brett is currently in his second term as Chairman of the Nelson Society. He was born in Great Yarmouth, with its many connections to Nelson and the sea. In 2005, the bi-centenary year of the Battle of Trafalgar, Chris joined the Nelson Society to pursue his lifelong interest in his Norfolk hero. He has written a number of articles about Nelson and related subjects including ‘Nelson and the Slave Trade’.