Remove the Slave Trader Memorial Falmouth
About the Campaign
Remove the Slave Trader Memorial Falmouth started in June 2020 after a memorial to Transatlantic Slave Trader, Thomas Corker was discovered by its earliest campaigners in King Charles the Martyr Church, Falmouth, Cornwall.
Thomas Corker (1699-1700) was one of the first children to be born in the new town of Falmouth and worked as a slave trader on behalf of the Royal Africa Company (RAC). In 1692 he was a chief agent and in 1698 he became Governor at James Fort on the Gambia River. Returning to Falmouth, Corker brought back slaves, we know this because they were noted as inventory in his will.
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We are campaigning for removal of a memorial to him in a church in Falmouth Town. The memorial not only neglects to mention his involvement in the Transatlantic Slave Trade, but glorifies him for the African treasures he stole.
We should condemn, not memorialise the slave traders of England's past. The presence of this memorial in the Church conflicts with the Christian values of belonging, inclusion, integrity and respect as the Church of England States.
And that is why we believe it should be removed.
The memorial contains this eulogy
(Latin to English translation)
“Sacred to the memory of Master Thomas Corker who died on the 10th September in the year of our Lord 1700, in the 31st year of his life. “The young man who lies here was a glory to the English and the Africans. Setting forth from this place, performing deeds of war, when defending the Moors from the well-known fortifications of the Gambia, he claimed supreme authority not for himself but for his fatherland.”
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“Returning hither, he brought back ivory and gold and precious timber. Dying, alas, untimely not for himself but for his country, he perished, carried too soon away by unfair death. Africans and English sadly suffer the loss together. Marble tablets now honour him; he deserved greater things, and that he should stand for ever in this place, himself a man of gold. Remember that thou too must die.”
Memorial to Thomas Corker
History of the Campaign
History of the campaign shown through a timeline.
For a pdf copy of the pamphlet mentioned, click here
