King Charles III faced demands that the British state pay reparations for the historical transatlantic slave trade during his visit to the Bahamas this week.
In his first official visit to the Caribbean nation after ascending to the British throne, King Charles acknowledged that the Bahamian culture and nation was “born out of darkness” and lamented the wrongs of the past.
“It is only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering and injustices of the past in these islands and beyond, even as we rejoice in the successes of the present and build new opportunities for the future. I know that leaders of the governments of affected Commonwealth countries will be discussing these matters in Antigua and Barbuda next week,” the King said, according to the Nassau Guardian.
However, Charles remarked that it gave him “enormous hope to see the way generations of Bahamians have carried the history, the legacy, and the promise bequeathed to you by your ancestors with pride in your hearts and purpose in your steps. Indeed, you have not only carried their legacy, you have nurtured and enhanced it creatively and courageously. And we have seen here what a wonderful gift that is to The Bahamas and to the world.”
However, his comments were not received well by the Bahamas National Reparations Committee, which has previously estimated that the United Kingdom owes some £18.8 trillion ($25tn) to 14 nations in the region for its role in the slave trade. The entire GDP of the United Kingdom is a little more than £3 trillion a year.
The Reparations Committee said that King Charles failed to “acknowledge that this darkness he speaks of did not just drop from the sky,” adding that it was “the Royal Family and the British government were responsible for the darkness.”
“His comments fall short of what justice requires — a full and formal apology- and they do not speak to the steps needed to remedy the wrongs committed in the name of the crown he wears.”
When he first landed on the island nation earlier this week, a large group of young students greeted Charles, cheering and singing in honour of the British Monarch’s arrival.
However, Rastafarian protesters also awaited the King, with the AP reporting that some chanted: “Pay us what you owe us!”
The British government under multiple prime ministers has so rejected the notion of paying reparations. Last month, the official spokesman for Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “The UK does not and will not pay reparations. The transatlantic slave trade was abhorrent, and of course it’s right that we acknowledge the wrongs of the past. But we continue to face forward and work with other countries on current shared challenges.”
The statement came as Jamaica has launched a legal challenge at Britain’s Court of Appeal to make its case for reparations.
Although Britain was not unique in its involvement in the slave trade, it was unique in its efforts to stamp out the practice, having paid in lives and treasure to halt the Atlantic, Barbary, and East African slave trades.
Following the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, the Royal Navy’s West Africa Squadron seized approximately 1,600 slave trade ships and freed some 150,000 African slaves. Meanwhile, some 1,587 British members of the squadron lost their lives in the service of liberating slaves.
King Charles arrived in Guyana on Thursday night as his Caribbean tour continues.
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