A dispute will be heard by an ecclesiastical Court next month about whether or not a monument to a 17th Century benefactor that invested in slave-trading firms can be moved from the Chapel of a Cambridge University College.
Tobias Rustat (a large investor in Royal African Company) was previously a servant of King Charles II. After the 1920s, he became one the largest benefactors to Jesus College.
The college, which is worth £344million, last year submitted an application to the Diocese of Ely to relocate a memorial to Rustat from its chapel to a permanent exhibition space in the college.
A consistory court case, starting on February 2, is due to help decide the fate of the monument to Rustat who donated £2,000, the equivalent to £450,000 today, to fund scholarships for the children of Anglican priests.
Prominent historical figures with alleged slavery links were re-examined after the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 which saw the toppling of a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol – a contemporary of Rustat.
The chapel memorial to Tobias Rustat (17th benefactor) will be removed by Jesus College at Cambridge University
Tobias Rustat (photo) was a significant investor in Royal African Company.
Robert Athol, a college archivist, stated last year that plans to relocate the monument into an exhibition space will allow for restoration and analysis of the monument.
He stated that people would be able to use it both as an artwork and for discussions about slavery’s history and legacy.
Tobias Rustat, University donor and investor in slave trade: The Life and Times of Tobias Rustat and Edward Colston
Tobias Rustat was created in 1606.
Tobias Rustat, a 17th-century benefactor of University of Cambridge and a servant of King Charles II was Tobias Rustat.
The first fund to purchase books from the Cambridge University Library was created by him.
Born in 1606, he was apprenticed to a barber surgeon when he was a child. Later, he became a servant first to the Duke of Buckingham then to the monarch.
He amassed his wealth as a courtier, but also invested in trading companies such as the Company of Royal Adventurers of England Tradng into Africa – otherwise known as the Royal African Company.
British slave trade was under the Company’s complete control, along with its gold, Ivory, and Ivory businesses with Africa, and forts off the coast of West Africa.
Rustat was a later benefactor of the university. He primarily focused on Jesus College where his father was a student. His death occurred in 1694.
Edward Colston became the Royal African Company’s Deputy Governor.
Colston was the captain of around 80 slave ships that transported around 80,000 people from Africa to America and Caribbean. They carried around 20,000 slaves on their journeys. Among them were 3,000 children.
Thomas Colston was Thomas’ brother and supplied the glass beads used to purchase the slaves. Colston spent a large portion of the wealth he earned from slave trading to help build schools and almshouses within his hometown.
In his honor, a statue was built as well as several buildings that are named after him including Colston Hall. But after years of protests by campaigners and boycotts by artists the venue recently agreed to remove all reference of the trader. After the Black Lives Matter protests, which were started by George Floyd’s untimely death in the US in 2020, Colston’s statue overlooking Bristol Harbour was taken down.
Rustat, a prominent College donor during his lifetime, commissioned the marble memorial to be placed on the chapel wall.
The College’s Legacy of Slavery Working Party made recommendations in 2019, 2020. According to the College, Rustat is seen as a celebration of Rustat that’s ‘incompatible’ with the chapel’s role of an inclusive community and place of collective well-being.
Sonita Alleyne of Master of Jesus College stated that college proposed to move the monument into an educational space as part of its ongoing reflection on colonial violence and enslavement.
She stated last year that the chapel should be a place of refuge for all members of the community. This is the best solution for college.
Many college graduates have opposed the idea of moving the memorial.
According to a Jesus College spokesperson, today’s statement was: “It all comes down to whether or not it is in the best interests for our students and fellows to hold this commemorative memorial in our Chapel. It’s a place where worship and community come together.”
The college does not seek to erase Rustat from records or cancel his registration. It is applying for Rustat’s memorial to be moved from a worship spot to a better, but still prominent place within the college.
“In addition, to religious events the chapel plays an important role in college and hosts many historical and ceremonial occasions aswell as concerts and recitals as welfare activities and student artists festivals.
“The memorial hinders certain members of our community from taking part in these college events.
The descendants of Rustat criticized the plan to move the monument in February 2013. Stephen Hemsted, his brothers and Rustat’s tenth great nieces filed a complaint against the college. They argued that Rustat did not give the money to the Royal African Company.
The family told The Times that they regarded Rustat as a ‘distinguished ancestor’ and added there was ‘no justification’ for removing the memorial.
Rustat, Mr Hemsted stated: “It’s obvious that the bulk his wealth was from things.” [that were]It has absolutely nothing to do slave labor, and the money donated to Jesus College is therefore not related to slavery.
He said, “We believe it was a mistake to attempt to connect his investment in Royal African Company and this memorial and the bequest that he left to Jesus College. The removal of the monument cannot be justified on slavery grounds.
Hemsted suggested to Ms Alleyne a notice in the chapel to explain both Rustat’s generosity and his connections to the slave company.
According to him, the college planned to take down the memorial and place a plaque warning that they are entering ‘a spot where Tobias Rustat has put money’.
Rustat’s Memorial was ordered by him and is proudly displayed in Jesus College chapel.
The College must get permission from the Church of England in order to transport the monument, which is located within a Grade I listed religious building.
Jesus College created a Legacy of Slavery Working Party. It recommended that Rustat be not celebrated at the college
Sonita Alleyne (Master of Jesus College) stated that the plan to move the monument to an educational space represented a critical process of self-reflection about the long-term legacy of colonial violence and enslavement.
Black Lives Matter protests took place in 2020 and saw the removal of a statue in Bristol of Edward Colston, a slave trader.
Rustat’s name appears on the charter for the Royal African Company and he donated £400 into the company – the equivalent of almost £100,000 today.
William Pettigrew (historian) previously claimed that the Royal African Company shipped more African women, children and men to Americas than any single institution over the course of the transatlantic slave trading.
It was claimed that investors knew everything about the company’s operations and made sure they were aware of their potential profits.
His memorial says that he was loyal and did his duty for King Charles II. [sic]’.
The article adds that he “disposed during his life in workses of charity, and found that the more he bestowed on churches, hospitalsls, and colleges, and upon poor widows or orphans from orthodox ministers; the greater the sum he had at year’s end.
Rustat was 87 when he died in 1693. Jesus College established a Legacy of Slavery Working Party in May 2019. This group recommended Rustat not be honored by the college.
The College Council ruled that the memorial is a celebration Rustat. This was deemed incompatible with Rustat’s role as an inclusive community, place of collective well-being and chapel.