Pupils and teachers in Scottish schools are being told not to use the terms 'slaves' or the 'slave trade' in a bid to "decolonise" the curriculum.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) issued the edict for history, geography and classical studies exams last summer with 'enslaved people' and the 'trade in enslaved African people' now used instead.
Supporters of the move say the new terms highlight how people were forced into slavery but furious critics say woke Scottish education chiefs are "distorting" history.
Historian Chris McGovern, who has helped advise three iterations of the English curriculum, told the Scottish Mail on Sunday: "This is a distortion of the past. Of course children need to know the great evil of the slave trade, but this suggests it was only white people enslaving black people. It is immensely damaging."
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Director of the Free Speech Union in Scotland Fraser Hudghton added: "We have a country bursting at the seams with quangos obsessed with 'white privilege' and 'unconscious bias', which are diversions from the clear problems in our classrooms which need dealt with as a priority."
It also comes after it emerged this month that Robert Burns had been sidelined by the SQA to make way for more modern writers in the Higher English curriculum.
Scottish Tory education spokesman Miles Briggs said: "The SQA has been embroiled in a series of high-profile failures. It ought to be concentrating on getting its own house in order, rather than spending resources on issues like this."
According to documents released under freedom of information, an SQA History Qualifications Working Group has been tasked with helping to "decolonise" the curriculum. In minutes obtained by the MoS, it claims to have also been set up to "embed anti-racism" within lessons.
Documents show that in June last year, the SQA changed the language used in history, geography and classical studies exams. The minutes show there was a "focus on enslavement of people rather than the use of 'slavery' and 'slaves'. This marked the start of activity in SQA focused on anti-racism and decolonised approaches to exam content."
Classical studies focuses on the ancient Greeks and Romans, with slavery playing a key role in both these civilisations. After the Romans conquered much of Great Britain, many Britons were enslaved alongside other captives of all races from across the Empire.
The SQA is due to be replaced by a new body called Qualifications Scotland in the wake of a series of controversies, including the debacle during Covid when talented pupils from deprived areas were deliberately marked down in their estimated grades.
An SQA spokesman said: "The SQA has updated language in our course specifications to reflect modern understanding of enslavement, colonialism and race."
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