***PLEASE READ****

This is a petition to remove the statue of Henry Dundas, the First Viscount Melville, from St Andrew's square and leave the empty column with a plaque that can educate people on his, and Edinburgh’s involvement in the slave trade. We should also rename Dundas Street, Melville Street, and Melville Crescent. These streets should be named after Joseph Knight, a Scottish-Jamaican slave who won a court case and then an appeal in 1778 to free himself, by proving that slavery didn't exist in Scots Law. 

The reason for this is to rectify his fallacious reputation and denounce his involvement in the slave trade during the 18th century. He was solely responsible for delaying the abolition of slavery in 1792, causing another 15 years of people being kidnapped, shipped to, and enslaved in Britain (that's around 630,000 more people) from which he directly benefited from.

He was also impeached for the misappropriation of public money (around £15,000,000) and is the only person EVER to be accused of such a serious crime and later have a public statue erected to honour their memory.

The statue in St Andrew's Square and various streets named after him falsely glorify Henry Dundas and suggest that he has a respectable legacy and should be idolised. This is not the case. If you agree please sign and share this petition.

In order to make a petition that's directly addressed to the Scottish Parliament, you need have evidence of previous efforts for them to even consider it. So it's important that this gains traction so I can prove that this is a popular opinion needs to be taken seriously.