this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2025
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Exclusive: Investigation finds one of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious universities benefited from transatlantic slavery and was haven for white supremacist theories

The university raised the equivalent of at least £30m from former students and donors who had links to the enslavement of African peoples, the plantation economy and exploitative wealth-gathering throughout the British empire, according to the findings of an official investigation seen by the Guardian.

The inquiry found that Edinburgh became a “haven” for professors who developed theories of white supremacism in the 18th and 19th centuries, and who played a pivotal role in the creation of discredited “racial pseudo-sciences” that placed Africans at the bottom of a racial hierarchy.

It reveals the ancient university – which was established in the 16th century – still had bequests worth £9.4m that came directly from donors linked to enslavement, colonial conquests and those pseudo-sciences, and which funded lectures, medals and fellowships that continue today.

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[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 13 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Just remember that even fifty years ago the 'scientific' name for Down's Syndrome was Mongoloid Idiot.

[–] General_Effort@lemmy.world 6 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Coined by Down himself, actually. I once looked up Down's original writings because I wanted to know how much racism was in the expression. To my surprise, I came away with the impression that Down was actually a very humane and unprejudiced person.

[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 5 points 22 hours ago

That's why the slave traders wanted to enshrine their ideas.

They knew that there were Abolitionists at other universities; they wanted to make sure their reputations would remain unsullied.

Kind of like how oil companies today fund their own 'climate research.'