Ymgysylltu â'r Gymuned

It’s a pleasure to be able to share our thoughts as a Youth Leadership Network on Amgueddfa Cymru's platform. The SSAP Youth Leadership Network is the youth arm of the Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel. It constitutes a group of highly driven and critical young leaders from diverse backgrounds.

In our last meeting, we hosted a discussion on the topical issue of statues and paintings that relate to British colonial history, particularly those of Thomas Picton here in Wales. The session was chaired by Dr. Sarah Younan from National Museum Cardiff. We were joined by the highly esteemed comparative sociologist educator Abu Bakr Madden Al Shabazz, Dr. Douglas Jones from the National Library of Wales and the Director General of Amgueddfa Cymru, David Anderson. A noteworthy and recommended resource used here is James Epstein's “Politics of Colonial Sensation: The Trial of Thomas Picton and the Cause of Louisa Calderon” in the American Historical Review.

The following are excerpts from the discussion including key events in the history of Picton: the slavocracy he was responsible for as governor of Trinidad, his well-known trial for accusations of misconduct abroad (involving the torture of Louisa Calderon) and thereafter, his deployment to Spain, death at Waterloo and posthumous honorary tributes in the form of statues, paintings, and some literary works.

Who was Thomas Picton?

Picton was commissioned in 1771, and was, according to the description on his portrait by Sir Martin Archer in the National Museum Wales collections, "a controversial governor of Trinidad in 1797-1803". The details of the said controversy are well illustrated in his trial for inflicting torture on Louisa Calderon (The Trial of Governor T. Picton for Inflicting the Torture on Louisa Calderon a Free Mulatto and one of His Britannic Majesty’s Subjects in the Island of Trinidad, (London, 1806)).

The trial of Picton

To sum up the details of the trial, a cause célèbre at the time, we turned to the blog by Dr. Jones for the National Library of Wales. In 1806, Picton was called to a trial at the King's Bench following his authoritarian and brutal rule in Trinidad. The accusation leveled against him was signing off an order for torture at the request of a highly influential planter, Begorrat, a planter also responsible for the execution of a dozen slaves at the time of the torture in question. Several things made this torture notable, not least amongst which are the following facts. It was the torture of a 14-year-old freed girl. It was the first trial for misconduct of an official in the execution duties while in service abroad. And, as Willian Garrow, the lead prosecutor, noted at the trial, it was the first time torture had been used officially in Trinidad.

While the details of the case are unique, its nature is ubiquitous, the misconduct of a high official under the influence of highly influential personnel, devoid of moral courage, and hidden away using technical legalities. This is how Picton was found guilty at the initial trial, but would 2 years later find himself never to be sentenced. In fact, he would go on to serve the British empire in Spain and would end up as the highest-ranking official to die at Waterloo, eventually being buried in St Paul's Cathedral a national hero. His public exoneration was about as swift and inexplicable as this outlined turnaround of events. 

Depicting Picton Today

Today, he has a statue honouring his memory in Cardiff City Hall among the heroes of Wales, a portrait in National Museum Cardiff, and an obelisk in Carmarthen.

Perhaps the most unfortunate thing in all this is how the majority of us have become complicit in the obliteration of the history and memory of that free Mulata girl, Louisa Calderon. Instead, we have willingly or unwillingly contributed to the ever-growing memory of Sir Thomas Picton, as polarising as it has always been.  By obliterating the memory of Louisa Calderon, we have severely distorted our collective view of the big man. And readily, we have reduced Louisa to a single case, a stain in both the history of Picton, and British colonial history, a stain which regrettably many have washed away in a falsified sense of pride in the man.

If we attempt to reconfigure this distorted view of Picton to what we know was the more complete form of the man, many will be offended. They have every right to be, because many of them were lied to. They were never afforded the chance to make their own true and more complete judgement of the man. But they must take this offense, the rage at the sense of betrayal, and rightly turn it to the overdue redress. And now is the opportune time to do that.

The leadership panel suggests a number of ways in which this is possible

Suggestions for moving forward

The first and unquestioned is the removal and resituating of the current statues and paintings. The purpose of this is not to remove figures like him from history, but rather to put them in a contextualized environment, where their complete history can be more truthfully and completely told. This will allow our present-day collective memory of such figures to be rid of the bias that's been wrought by failure to tell their histories in the proper colonial context and in environments that allow all members of the public to digest this history.

Secondly, and an extension to the first recommendation, is multi-level education across different institutions responsible for public and private education. Notably, the attempts to re-educate the public should not place sole importance on the humanities but must make an honest attempt to diversify the contents of curricular in subjects such as the sciences.

We encourage members of the public to take an active role in engaging in the public discourse on the future of such statues, monuments, and memorabilia. These should not reflect the views of the elite few, but the public.

Our work with young people at Amgueddfa Cymru is part of the Hands on Heritage initiative kindly supported by the National Heritage Lottery’s Kick the Dust fund  - changing perspectives on heritage with the help of young people.

Pan ddechreuodd Sain Ffagan gynllunio’r project hwn gyda staff y Brifysgol, doedd dim sôn am Covid-19. A dyma ni nawr ynghanol ‘Y Meudwyo Mawr’, yn gofidio am ein hiechyd, ein bywoliaeth a’n dyfodol. Mor rhwydd y gall bywyd droi wyneb i waered! Ac fe ŵyr ffoaduriaid hynny’n well na neb. Digon hawdd meddwl nad yw’r hyn sy’n digwydd mewn gwlad bell yn ddim i wneud â ni yng Nghymru. Gwers Covid-19 yw ein bod ni, yn ein milltir sgwâr, yn rhan annatod o fyd sy’n fwy. 

Credaf yn gryf iawn mai hanfod amgueddfa fel Sain Ffagan yw’r egwyddor fod hanes pawb yn bwysig. Mae pob un ohonom yn cyfrif, beth bynnag fo’n cefndir. Mae hawl gan bawb i lais, i fywyd rhydd a diogel, a chael parch gan eraill. Nid dweud stori’r bobl fawr yw pwrpas yr amgueddfa, ond cofnodi a deall cyfraniad pawb i’n hanes. Mae Cymru yn ystyried ei hun yn wlad groesawgar, barod ei chymwynas. Mae’r hunan-ddelwedd honno’n rhan o’n hunaniaeth fel cenedl. Ond pa mor wir yw hynny? Beth gallwn ni ddysgu am ein hunain a’n lle yn y byd trwy wrando ar dystiolaeth y ffoaduriaid sydd wedi ceisio am loches yn ein plith? Ac i ba raddau ydyn ni’n deall, mewn gwirionedd, cymhellion ac ofnau’r ffoaduriaid hynny? Sut mae esmwytho eu ffordd tuag at deimlo eu bod yn perthyn?

Mae’r bartneriaeth rhwng y Brifysgol a’r Amgueddfa yn ein galluogi i gyflawni sawl peth. Gwaith y Brifysgol yw gwneud yr ymchwil dadansoddol manwl fydd yn dylanwadu, gobeithio, ar benderfyniadau a pholisiau gwleidyddol. Cyfrifoldeb yr Amgueddfa yw diogelu tystiolaeth lafar y ffoaduriaid ar gyfer yr oesoedd a ddêl, ond hefyd creu cyfleoedd iddynt gyflwyno eu profiadau a’u gobeithion i eraill. ‘Lloches ein hanes ni’ yw Sain Ffagan, ond mae rhoi lloches hefyd yn rhan o’n hanes ni ac yn haeddu sylw.

Gwyliwch allan felly am ddigwyddiadau yn Sain Ffagan sy’n ymwneud â phrosiect Ffoaduriaid Cymru. Yn y byd ansicr sydd ohoni, anodd yw rhagweld pa fath o ddigwyddiadau fyddan nhw. Rhaid i ni gyd bellach fod yn barod i ddelio gydag ansicrwydd. Mae ffoaduriaid wedi bod trwy brofiadau na fydd y rhan fwyaf ohonom yn wynebu byth. Mae gennym lawer i’w ddysgu ganddynt.

Mae mis wedi mynd heibio ers i ni lawnsio ein holiadur Casglu Covid digidol. Os gofiwch chi, nod yr ymgyrch hon yw casglu profiadau unigolion a chymunedau ar draws Cymru am fywyd yn ystod y pandemig presennol.  

Hyd yn hyn, rydym wedi derbyn dros 800 o gyfraniadau cynhwysfawr, gyda’r niferoedd yn cynyddu bob dydd. Mae’r holiadur yn rhoi cyfle i bobl fyfyrio ar eu profiadau diweddar, i fynegi eu teimladau a’u hemosiynau, yn ogystal â’u dyheadau a’u pryderon am y dyfodol. Mae’r ymatebion sydd wedi dod i law yn du hwnt o bwerus – straeon am golled a dioddefaint, pryder ac unigrwydd, ochr yn ochr â thystiolaeth am ddyfeisgarwch a charedigrwydd teulu a chymdogion. Dyma flas o rai o’r cyfraniadau hyd yma.

Mae nifer o fy ffrindiau lleol a minnau wedi teimlo'n euog am gael cystal amser yn y pandemig – heb golli anwyliaid eto, heb golli swyddi… Mi fydd felly yn ddyletswydd ar y rhai ohonom sydd wedi cadw neu atgyfnerthu ein iechyd meddwl i chwarae rhan gweithgar yn cefnogi y rhai llai ffodus pan awn yn ôl at rywbeth tebycach i'r hen arferion. Bydded hynny trwy helpu 1-1 neu trwy weithredu'n wleidyddol neu rhywbeth arall.

Sali, Gwynedd

Methu ymweld â fy mam yng nghyfraith 96 oed yn yr ysbyty a ninnau'n gwybod gymaint oedd ei hiraeth am ei theulu. Welon ni ddim mohoni am fis cyn ei marwolaeth. Gorfod mynd â dillad a sebon iddi yn yr ysbyty ond ddim yn cael mynd ymhellach na desg y dderbynfa a hithau ond ychydig lathenni i ffwrdd. Eistedd yn y ty dros benwythnos y Pasg yn aros i'r ysbyty ffonio i gyhoeddi ei marwolaeth ar ôl iddyn nhw ddweud bod y diwedd o fewn ychydig oriau, ac nad oedd modd i ni ei gweld.

Sylfia, Pontypridd

Mae'r emosiynau yn newid o ddiwrnod i ddiwrnod. Diolch byth bod gen i deulu i gael cwtsho. Meddwl am rai sydd methu cael cwtsh wrth eu teuluoedd.

Rhian, Abertawe

Dwi di siarad mwy yn y clo hwn nag erioed. Gynt rhyw 'Sut ma hi heddiw?' ac ymlaen oedd hi. Rwan da ni'n aros a chael sgwrs iawn a diddorol o un ochr y lon i'r llall… Mae arferion yn treiddio i'r meddwl. Heddiw mi geis fy hun yn dal dair metr o'r wraig, ac yna sylweddoli, 'be ti'n neud?' Mae pob am dro di bod yn igam ogam, ond y sgwrsio di bod yn fwy ar draws ffordd, o bafin i bafin.

Di-enw, Llanrug

Mae fy nheimladau'n dod fel tonnau. Gallai fod yn ddiolchgar, derbyn y sefyllfa a trio gweld positif yn y sefyllfa ar y mwyaf ond reit ddagreuol dros bethau bach adeg eraill.

Leri, Caerdydd

Yn bositif, y gwanwyn godidog na'th helpu cymaint. Y gwasanaeth hollol wych greodd siop y pentre i'r gymuned. Mynd ati i goginio cacennau a phlanu hadau, ac agor gwely llysie – fel pawb arall mae'n debyg! Pethau gwych fel COR-ONA ar Facebook a gweld y fath dalent greadigol yn dod at ei gilydd yng Nghymru i godi calon a diddanu.

Cathryn, Cilgerran

Diolch o galon i bawb sydd wedi cyfrannu eu profiadau hyd yn hyn. Drwy ymateb a chymryd rhan, rydych yn ein helpu i greu archif anhygoel fydd yn galluogi cenedlaethau’r dyfodol i ddeall sut brofiad oedd byw drwy COVID-19 yng Nghymru.

 

Ym mis Gorffennaf, cynhaliwyd y Grŵp Pontio’r Cenedlaethau cyntaf yn Big Pit. Nod y grŵp oedd dod â’r hen a’r ifanc ynghyd, chwalu’r rhwystrau rhwng cenedlaethau a chefnogi aelodau’r gymuned sy’n byw gyda dementia neu’n ei brofi.

Bob mis, mae thema wahanol ac mae pobl o bob oed yn dod at ei gilydd i rannu profiadau ac atgofion, weithiau i ddysgu rhywbeth newydd, ymweld â rhywle newydd neu am baned a chlonc.

Mae gennym nifer o wirfoddolwyr hen ac ifanc, gan gynnwys rhai sy’n byw gyda dementia.

Dyma Gavin a Kim. Mae Gavin yn berson iau sydd â dementia, ac yn ddiweddar mae wedi ymuno â ni fel gwirfoddolwr gweithredol ar gyfer y grŵp. Mae wedi arwain gweithgareddau celf hefyd.

O’r sesiynau cynnar, rydym wedi sylwi ar gynnydd sylweddol yn hyder pobl, a mae’r parodrwydd i rannu sgiliau, syniadau a gwybodaeth wedi tyfu o wythnos i wythnos. Mae cyfeillgarwch wedi datblygu ar draws y cenedlaethau, gyda phobl yn trefnu cymryd rhan mewn gweithgareddau cymdeithasol tu hwnt i sesiynau’r grŵp.

Os hoffech chi ymuno â’r grŵp fel gwirfoddolwr, neu os hoffech ragor o wybodaeth am y grŵp, cysylltwch â: gwirfoddoli@amgueddfacymru.ac.uk

Mewn partneriaeth â Chyngor Tref Blaenafon, gyda chymorth Hwb Ieuenctid Blaenafon a Western Power Distribution.

Dyma ddyfyniadau ac adborth gan aelodau a’u teuluoedd:

“[Mae Mam] wedi bod yn dweud wrtha i am y clwb, a dwi’n cael y teimlad ei bod wedi mwynhau ei phrynhawn yn fawr… roedd hi’n falch iawn o’i darluniau o’r pwll… mae hi wedi darlunio mwy yn y diwrnodau diwetha nag ers blynyddoedd! Mae hi wir yn hoffi cwrdd â phobl mae hi’n eu ’nabod am glonc”.

Adborth gan ferch i aelod Grŵp Pontio Cenedlaethau Blaenafon. Cafodd yr aelod strôc yn ddiweddar sydd wedi effeithio ar ei golwg felly mae hi wedi colli peth o’i hannibyniaeth.

“Dwi wastad yn mwynhau dod i’r grŵp. Rydych chi wastad yn gwneud i ni deimlo’n arbennig, ac mae cael bod gyda’r plant yn hyfryd. Maen nhw’n rhoi cip gwahanol i chi ar y byd. Gallwch chi deimlo’n unig yn y cartref, hyd yn oed pan mae llawer o bobl o’ch cwmpas. Alla i ddim diolch digon i chi gyd”.

Aelod rheolaidd o Grŵp Pontio Cenedlaethau Blaenafon, sy’n byw mewn cartref gofal.

“Codi i’r Wyneb - Brought to the Surface” is a project on freshwater snails led by the Museum’s Department of Natural Sciences, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. For more information on the project I recommend reading; Shells at the Surface of “Brought to the Surface” (January, 2019) and “Brought to the Surface” Now in Full Flow (June, 2019). 

Ben and I have been busy since the last blog entry in June 2019! We took our project on tour, visiting a variety of different public events, training workshops and conferences. As a result, we have had the pleasure of engaging with a bunch of interesting people. 1,263 people to be exact! This has included professional consultants, scientific researchers, amateur naturalists, keen gardeners and more! We would like to thank you all so much! Your commentary and feedback has supported us on our way to producing an identification guide for environmentalists of all ages and backgrounds.

Snail Safari was one of our favourite public events of the last year. The bilingual educational workshop was designed for children aged 8-11 and was held at St Fagans National Museum of History. The purpose of the event, which consisted of two separate sessions, was to simulate and promote the type of work that we, as taxonomists, carry out at the museum.

For the introductory session we led the group on a safari to survey the ponds and lakes in the gardens at St Fagans. With nets and buckets the children collected freshwater snails to examine back at the classroom where, many of them were given a chance to use a microscope for the first time! The Gweithdy carpentry workshop served as an excellent impromptu laboratory with plenty of space for the group to lay out trays of pond water for sifting. The session ended with a lively competition to find the biggest and/or fastest snail. The enthusiasm displayed by the group impressed us so much, that we decided to kick it up a notch for the second session.

Inspired by Guess Who, Guess Whorl is a competitive card game in which players take turns asking questions about identifying features. The goal is to deduce the identity of a mystery freshwater snail species using the process of elimination, with questions such as, “Does your snail have a pointy shell?” or “Does the shell have stripes?”. The indoor Snail Safari session consisted of an exciting tournament to award the best taxonomist and Guess Whorl player in the group. Driven by the competitive element, the children became fascinated by our card game and the variety of different snail shells illustrated on the cards. With 17 species to guess from and 9 different identifying features, Guess Whorl kept us occupied for an entire afternoon!

By the end of the session, the group had learned about the differences between types of British pond snails and how to deduce and describe those differences in the same way as a taxonomist might. With some nets and buckets, a few laminated cards, and a bit of ‘thinking outside the box’ we delivered our favourite workshop yet.

Guess Whorl can now be used as a useful teaching tool for a variety of future public engagement events. With some adjustments, we think that the card game could be used for training purposes in identification courses for professionals as well as beginners!

We would like to thank Ian Daniel from St Fagans for his enthusiastic approach and brilliant improvisational skills. Thank you to the children from Ysgol Plasmawr, Ysgol Bro Edern, Ysgol Glantaf, and year 7,8 and 9 ladder group and platform group from Cardiff West Community High School, for taking part in our Snail Safari.