Lord Nelson's 'heroic status' to be reviewed by National Maritime Museum

Horatio Nelson towers over the pantheon of British heroes, and even his nemesis Napoleon kept a bust of the admiral in admiration – but such a statue would now be suspect.

Lord Nelson's "heroic status" will be reviewed by the National Maritime Museum as part of efforts to challenge Britain's "barbaric history of race and colonialism", The Telegraph can reveal.

The admiral's legacy is enshrined at the museum in Greenwich, which holds personal effects ranging from love letters to the coat Nelson wore when he was fatally shot during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Internal documents seen by The Telegraph reveal that the museum will capitalise on the "momentum built up by the Black Lives Matter movement" to make changes at the repository of naval treasures and address "aspects of slavery relating to the Royal Navy".

Watch: UK slave trader statue replaced by protester sculpture

Nelson displays could be subject to "wholesale changes" in future, and the "more complex" nature of his heroism will be tackled by curators re-evaluating historical events and people as part of a new strategy.

The publicly-funded museum is seeking to communicate the "often barbaric history of race, colonialism and representation in British maritime history".

Statues of Royal Navy heroes such as Admiral Edward Pellew, lionised in the Hornblower series, have also been brought into the review of Britain's seafaring past.

A select group of trustees and community groups will guide the new strategy to address "issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement", purging outdated archive language and using a database to root out links to slavery.

Following the toppling of Edward Colston's statue in Bristol earlier this year, Royal Museums Greenwich director Paddy Rogers told staff that the widespread reassessment of history provided a "moment to shine".

The boss of the Maritime Museum's parent group said perspectives on history and identity "have never been so hotly discussed as they are right here and right now" and the institution could "play a key role".

The collections team said: "We are in the process of rolling out our new strategy and part of this is looking specifically at the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement. All museum collections are partial, and history is often told from a particular perspective."

Nelson has been critiqued for voicing support for slaveholders and the colonies, which the Royal Navy protected, and opposition to the "damnable" William Wilberforce.

Admiral Pellew will be contextualised as an officer in a Royal Navy which helped protect the slave trade. His statue will be given new labelling information, as will that of Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith – of whom Napoleon said: "That man made me miss my destiny" – and Admiral James de Saumarez.

Captain Sir William Peel, an early Victoria Cross winner, will also be included in the changes intended to "draw attention to areas where we can link to contemporary issues".

The colonial legacies of figures such as Captain Cook and Francis Drake have previously been addressed by the Maritime Museum.

The museum will also work with groups who have been "affected by the legacies of the Transatlantic Slave". Past external partners have included groups from trasngender charities and refugee networks.

It has said it does not plan to remove any bust or statues from the collection in its reinterpation, with a statement from curators saying: "Our ambition is to be honest and transparent, to offer people historical evidence and to be a place for dialogue.

"The museum will continue to evolve, reassessing and reinterpreting its collections and displays. There are no plans to remove any statues or busts, although our displays are constantly changing."

The Royal Navy, particularly the West Africa Squadron, ultimately worked to suppress the international slave trade.