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The figure being demanded from Britain equates to six times’ the size of Britain\u2019s entire GDP.<\/p>\n
A lawyer and chair of the island nation\u2019s Reparations Commission dragged the Royal Family into the contentious political row, as they said said: \u201cWe are hoping that King Charles will revisit the issue of reparations and make a more profound statement beginning with an apology, and that he would make resources from the Royal family available for reparative justice\u201d.<\/p>\n
In April, King Charles signalled support for research into the British monarchy\u2019s slavery ties, though many warned him such a concession would lead to further demands for reparations and apologies.<\/p>\n
The figure derives from a paper from an American consulting firm, which attempted to calculate damages for four centuries of enslavement.<\/p>\n
Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n Verene Shepherd, a Jamaican professor of history, said: \u201cWe need a figure to begin with, a negotiating figure. The crime is huge. The responsibility for what happened is huge\u201d.<\/p>\n CARICOM – the name for the 15 nations – established a reparations commission in 2013, and have since made approaches to former imperial powers about reparations.<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, Ms Shepherd says their letters making the enormous demands \u201cdidn\u2019t get a positive response\u201d.<\/p>\n She argues in the last decade the campaign to secure handouts has \u201cwon in terms of our public presentation and our advocacy\u201d.<\/p>\n A second round of letters to European governments has now been drafted, and will be sent in due course.<\/p>\n Advocates for reparations to the Caribbean argue that although Britain paid \u00a320 million in compensation in the 1830s to 46,000 former slaveholders – as part of securing the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade – they didn\u2019t award anything to those formerly enslaved.<\/p>\n However Jamaican columnist and college dean Peter Espeut criticised the idea of handing Jamaica money for debt reparations.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Jamaica became independent, the British government handed us a national debt of zero.<\/p>\n \u201cAny debt that Jamaica may currently have is arguably not the result of slavery or colonialism but malfeasance on the part of the Jamaican government.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the UK and EU would have a strong argument in saying they have been paying reparations for decades in the form of international aid.<\/p>\n Rishi Sunak has previously told the Commons that he opposes reparatory justice, saying he believes: \u201ctrying to unpick our history is not the right way forward, and it\u2019s not something that we will focus our energies on\u201d.<\/p>\n
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