大象传媒

Having investigated the historical record and consulted with experts in the field, the ECU reached the following conclusions.

In relation to point 1, the ECU noted that, while the UK had passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833,听 the French National Convention had issued a decree abolishing slavery in all French colonies in 1794.听 However, the decree did not include measures to enforce the policy, and it was reversed by Napoleon in 1804, after which slavery remained legal under French law until 1848.听 Although it could be said that France was first to announce the abolition of slavery, it can also be said that the UK acted to abolish the practice of slavery in its dominions in ways which were听 not pursued by France.听 On that basis, the ECU considered the impression given by the programme to be consistent with the 大象传媒鈥檚 standards of due accuracy.

In relation to point 2,the complainant queried the programme鈥檚 statement (in connection with those below decks in The London when it sank) that 鈥�nobody would have bothered to come and rescue them鈥�, pointing out that a contemporary newspaper report referred to 鈥渟ix local seaman who lost their lives trying to rescue people from the ship鈥�.听 The ECU noted that, later in the programme, the same speaker said 鈥�The locals saw the ship was in distress. 听Lots of people from the harbour rowed out to try and help the ship and guide the ship into the harbour. 听They even had a pilot to try and come on board. 听But the Captain refused help鈥�, and that the programme-makers maintained that his earlier statement had been intended as a reference to the reluctance of the ship鈥檚 crew to rescue the passengers.听 While accepting that this intention may not have been apparent to viewers, the ECU concluded that the later statement would have guarded against any impression that no rescue had been attempted, and that the programme was within the bounds of due accuracy in this respect.

In relation to points 3 and 4, the ECU noted some uncertainty in the historical record and some divergence of opinion among historians.听 While it is clear that slaves on St Lucia demanded their freedom in 1791 and four years later rose in rebellion when they joined French Revolutionary forces and defeated the British, what occurred afterwards when British forces took back the island is less clear. 听It appears some did return to the plantations as slaves but others were treated as combatants and taken as prisoners of war.听

As to the status of the passengers on The London, the programme鈥檚 suggestion that they were being held as slaves, having been re-enslaved by the British, is not accepted by many historians with an expert knowledge of the subject. 听The ECU acknowledged that some contemporaneous documentary evidence could be interpreted in a sense which supported the programme鈥檚 suggestion and understood why the programme-makers had found the view that the passengers had been re-enslaved convincing, but in the light of the scope for differing interpretations which historic documentary sources often allow and of the weight of opinion on the other side of the argument, the ECU concluded that the programme should have referred to the view that the individuals in question were prisoners of war and not slaves, even if on balance it came to a different judgement.听 By omitting that view the programme tended to give the impression that its narrative in relation to re-enslavement was generally accepted, and it fell short of due accuracy in that respect.
听

Partly upheld