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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Penrhyns enslaved Welsh working class | Penrhyns enslaved Welsh working class |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| Letters | |
| Mon 27 Nov 2017 19.03 GMT | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 23.10 GMT | |
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| I was moved to read Jen Wilson’s letter (Letters, 23 November) about the fortune grabbed by the owners of Penrhyn Castle from the labour of slaves in their West Indies sugar plantations. When I visited this opulent pile, I was nauseated by the conspicuous consumption of its owners, particularly as I knew their wealth was built on the backs of Welsh slate miners and their families. Slate mines were dangerous places, the work was generally back-breaking, and the workers were not generously paid and were often forced to accept tokens (in lieu of money) that had to be spent at company stores. Anyone British should be ashamed by the exploitation, cruelty and racism of the empire, but it’s good to remember that the working class here were enslaved too.Pippa RichardsonSwansea | I was moved to read Jen Wilson’s letter (Letters, 23 November) about the fortune grabbed by the owners of Penrhyn Castle from the labour of slaves in their West Indies sugar plantations. When I visited this opulent pile, I was nauseated by the conspicuous consumption of its owners, particularly as I knew their wealth was built on the backs of Welsh slate miners and their families. Slate mines were dangerous places, the work was generally back-breaking, and the workers were not generously paid and were often forced to accept tokens (in lieu of money) that had to be spent at company stores. Anyone British should be ashamed by the exploitation, cruelty and racism of the empire, but it’s good to remember that the working class here were enslaved too.Pippa RichardsonSwansea |
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