It was created in 1895 by the Irish sculptor John Cassidy and was formerly situated on a plinth of Portland stone in a public space known as The Centre in Bristol, until it was toppled by anti-racism protestors in 2020.

Designated a Grade II listed structure in 1977, the statue was the subject of controversy due to Colston's role in organising the Atlantic slave trade as a senior executive of the Royal African Company.

On 7 June 2020, the statue was toppled, defaced, and pushed into Bristol Harbour during the George Floyd protests related to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The statue was recovered from the harbour and put into storage by Bristol City Council on 11 June 2020, and exhibited in its graffitied state in the M Shed museum during the summer of 2021, and permanently from March 2024.

[11] The statue was unveiled by the mayor, Howell Davies, and the bishop of Bristol, Charles Ellicott, on 13 November 1895, a date which had been referred to as Colston Day in the city.

[15][16] Colston's involvement in the slave trade predated the abolition movement in Britain, and was during the time when "slavery was generally condoned in England—indeed, throughout Europe—by churchmen, intellectuals and the educated classes".

[18] In 1992, the statue was depicted in the installation piece Commemoration Day by Carole Drake, as part of the Trophies of Empire exhibition at the Arnolfini, a gallery in a former tea warehouse in Bristol Harbour.

[25] In August 2017 an unauthorised commemorative plaque by sculptor Will Coles was affixed to the statue's plinth, declaring that Bristol was the "Capital of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1730–1745" and memorialising "the 12,000,000 enslaved of whom 6,000,000 died as captives".

[34] It mentioned Colston's role in the slave trade, his brief tenure as a Tory MP for Bristol, and criticised his philanthropy as religiously selective: As a high official of the Royal African Company from 1680 to 1692, Edward Colston played an active role in the enslavement of over 84,000 Africans (including 12,000 children) of whom over 19,000 died en route to the Caribbean and America.

[38] A statement from Rees' office said the Merchant Venturers had been "extremely naive" to think they would have the final say on the wording, and that it was "an oversight to put it mildly" to not consult with the mayor.

[42][44][45] Just prior to this, a petition to the council to remove the statue, sent out to 38 Degrees “an online campaigning organisation, involving more than 2 million people from every corner of the UK”, had received over 11,000 signatures.

[42][46] Superintendent Andy Bennett of Avon and Somerset Police stated that they had made a "tactical decision" not to intervene and had allowed the statue to be toppled, citing a concern that stopping the act could have led to further violence and a riot.

"[44] Police Superintendent Andy Bennett also stated he understood that Colston was "a historical figure that's caused the black community quite a lot of angst over the last couple of years", adding: "Whilst I am disappointed that people would damage one of our statues, I do understand why it's happened, it's very symbolic.

"[42] Rees made a statement suggesting that "it's important to listen to those who found the statue to represent an affront to humanity and make the legacy of today about the future of our city, tackling racism and inequality.

"[55] A spokesperson for Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, said that he "absolutely understands the strength of feeling" but insisted that the democratic process should have been followed, and that police should hold responsible those involved in the criminal act.

To build a city where racism and inequality no longer exist, we must start by acknowledging Bristol's dark past and removing statues, portraits and names that memorialise a man who benefitted from trading in human lives.

The council said the statue was structurally stable, although it had lost one of its coattails, the walking stick, and faced damage to its left side and to the foot.

[69] In September 2020, Avon and Somerset Police said that files on four people suspected of criminal damage had been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide if charges should be brought.

[69] On 9 December 2020, four people—Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, Jake Skuse and Sage Willoughby, often referred to as the "Colston 4"[71]—were charged with causing criminal damage in relation to the toppling of the statue.

[77] While stating that "trial by jury is an important guardian of liberty and must not be undermined", Suella Braverman, the attorney general, said she is "carefully considering" whether to refer the case to the Court of Appeal as the result was "causing confusion".

[79] Braverman's statement was alleged by former Director of Public Prosecutions, Ken Macdonald, and shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, to be politically motivated.

In what a local councillor believed was retaliation, the headstone and footstone for the enslaved man Scipio Africanus were vandalised in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Henbury, Bristol, on 17 June.

On 11 July 2020, a mannequin dressed as deceased television presenter Jimmy Savile appeared on the plinth, along with a cardboard sign: "None of them stopped me, and your licence paid for it".

An application for planning permission for A Surge of Power to be installed for two years was sought in summer 2020, rejected, appealed in March 2021,[95] and finally refused in November 2021.

[96] On 2 December 2020, a figurine of Darth Vader appeared on the plinth, in what was seen as a tribute to the actor David Prowse, who was born in Bristol and died on 29 November 2020.

[102][103][104] The museum's website stated "This temporary display is the start of a conversation, not a complete exhibition", and invited members of the public to express their views on the future of the statue and its plinth.

[106] In response the museum changed its online booking system: "We're always more than happy to accommodate walk-ups if we haven't reached our Covid secure capacity".

[107] On 4 August 2021, planning inspector J. P. Sargent dismissed an appeal against the city council's refusal to grant a temporary permission to reinstate, for a period of two years, Marc Quinn's statue of Jen Reid.

"[108] On 3 February 2022, the We Are Bristol History Commission recommended, following public consultation, that the toppled and defaced Colston statue should be put on display in the city's museum, in its existing state, and presented in a "nuanced, contextualised and engaging way".

In the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, the celebration of Colston was increasingly challenged given his prominent role in the enslavement of African people.