Why are Commonwealth leaders asking the UK for reparations?

Published

6 months ago

October 25, 2024

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Calls for the UK to pay slavery reparations have grown louder in recent years.

Soon after the Second World War, former British colonies across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean started gaining their independence.

This independence movement led to some countries demanding financial compensation for all they had suffered under British rule.

More recently, social media, the Black Lives Matter movement, changes in the monarchy, and the challenges posed by climate change have seen the campaign for reparations build momentum.

This week, both the King and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are in Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) where they both face renewed calls for reparations.

What are reparations?

In 1661, Barbados became the first British colony to operate under a “slave code”.

This gave Britain the legal right to take people from its colonies in Africa on deadly ship journeys to the Caribbean, where they were treated as property and made to work for no money.

They grew sugar, cotton, and tobacco, among other produce that was then sold for profit, bolstering Britain’s economy and infrastructure.

The Royal Family was also heavily connected to the slave trade.

Slavery was abolished by the UK in 1834, with the British Empire only formally coming to an end with its handing back of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

Following abolition, the British government paid former slave owners compensation – for loss of “property” – that totalled £20m (the equivalent of £300m today).

No compensation or offer of relocation was offered to the former slaves themselves or their families. This is what Commonwealth countries are asking for now in reparations.

How are the royals involved?

As head of state, British kings and queens were heavily implicated in slavery.

Starting in the 16th century, Elizabeth I sold a ship to one of the country’s biggest slave traders John Hawkins.

Both James I and Charles I granted monopolies on the trade of slaves in Africa to merchants connected with the royals.

In 1663, Charles II founded the Royal African Company, which took more slaves to the Caribbean than any other institution. He also appointed judges to bolster the legal framework for the system – effectively making it a state enterprise.

Successive monarchs then defended slavery and used its power to defend British slave bosses.

Before he became king, William IV, then the Duke of Clarence, boasted of time spent in the Caribbean befriending planters and contracting a sexually transmitted disease. Before the trade was abolished in 1834, he claimed enslaved people were “comparatively in a state of humble happiness”.

What is being asked for?

Fifteen Caribbean governments, which form CARICOM (Caribbean Community), have created a 10-point plan for “reparatory justice”.

This includes a formal apology for slavery, a development programme, which helps nations with their economies, increasing difficulties caused by climate change, and to move out of poverty.

It begins: “Over 10 million Africans were stolen from their homes and forcefully transported to the Caribbean as the enslaved chattel and property of European.

“This trade in enchained bodies was a highly successful commercial business for the nations of Europe.

“The lives of millions of men, women and children were destroyed in search of profit. The descendants of these stolen people have a legal right to return to their homeland.

“A repatriation program must be established and all available channels of international law and diplomacy used to resettle those persons who wish to return.”

It argues that “European colonial rule is a persistent part of Caribbean life” and the repercussions are the “primary cause of development failure in the Caribbean”.

Why £205bn?

As the reparations movement has gained pace, experts have tried to put a figure on how much Britain and other former colonial powers should pay.

Earlier this year, Reverend Dr Michael Banner, Dean of Cambridge’s Trinity College, claimed Britain owed £205bn in reparations.

In 2023, a report carried out by an American consultancy firm, the American Society of International Law, and the University of the West Indies, concluded the UK owes 14 countries a total of $24trn (£18.8trn).

The report was led by leading International Court of Justice (ICJ) judge Patrick Robinson.

Some UK institutions have offered reparations for their role in the slave trade – including the Church of England, parts of the NHS in Scotland, and the University of Glasgow.

What has the UK said?

Both the King and Sir Keir have avoided directly addressing the subject on their trip to Samoa.

In a speech on Thursday, the King said he understood how “the most painful aspects of our past resonate” and how “history [can] guide us to make the right choices in our future”.

He referred to the “wrongs of the past” and said his family would commit to “learning lessons and finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure”.

Previously, he expressed his “profound sorrow” over the slave trade, with his son Prince William describing it as “abhorrent” last year.

Although the royals have failed to go any further – the King has suggested he would support research into his family’s links with slavery.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir has said reparations are still off the table.

“On the question of which way we’re facing, I think we should be facing forward,” he told reporters.

“I’ve talked to a lot of our Commonwealth colleagues in the Commonwealth family and they’re facing real challenges on things like climate in the here and now.

“And in all the conversations I’ve had with them, what they’re most interested in is can we help them working with international institutions, financial institutions on the sorts of packages they need right now in relation to the challenges they’re facing right now.”

World

First conclave vote ends in black smoke as cardinals fail to agree on new pope

Published

16 mins ago

May 8, 2025

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First conclave vote ends in black smoke as cardinals fail to agree on new pope

Cardinals have failed to reach the required two-thirds majority in their first vote to choose a new pope in the Vatican.

Black smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney at 8pm, indicating they had been unable to agree.

Crowds in St Peter’s Square had been kept waiting longer than expected and most were hoping for the white smoke that signals the arrival of a new pontiff.

Latest updates as conclave under way

There was only one vote today, but from Thursday the 133 cardinals will hold two votes in the morning and two in the afternoon until at least 89 pick the same name.

The conclave started on Wednesday afternoon after cardinals swore an oath of secrecy and the doors of the Sistine Chapel were shut to the outside world.

They have given up their phones and are cut off from the outside world until a new pope is chosen.

The most recent conclaves – for Pope Francis in 2013, Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and Pope John Paul II in 1978 – all lasted less than three days.

The voting takes places beneath Michelangelo’s legendary frescoes and the chapel – normally a packed tourist site – has installed tight security.

It’s been swept for listening devices, signal jammers have been installed, and its windows have been covered to protect from spy drones.

Lead seals have also been put on 80 doors at the conclave site to stop people going in and out.

The cardinals will sleep and eat at the Casa Santa Marta, a guest house within the Vatican where Pope Francis lived, until the process is over.

They cardinals began Wednesday by taking mass, before a solemn two-by-two procession into the Sistine Chapel in the afternoon.

Dresses in their red garb, they chanted the Litany of the Saints and Veni Creator – a hymn imploring the saints to help them find a new leader.

They then each came forward to take an oath of secrecy, placing a hand on the gospel and also promising not to allow any outside influence.

The final piece of theatre was the Latin declaration “Extra omnes” (“everyone else out”) and Archbishop Diego Ravelli, an aide to the late pope, pushed the the doors shut.

Conclave is beginning 16 days after Pope Francis’s death, which came after a long hospital stay with pneumonia.

Many experts believe it will come down to a choice between someone who will continue his progressive approach and a more conservative candidate.

Among the favourites is Luis Tagle, a cardinal who could become the first Asian pontiff, and who’s been likened to Pope Francis.

Two Italians are also seen as strong contenders: The Archbishop of Bologna, Matteo Zuppi, and the so-called “deputy pope” Pietro Parolin.

The pope’s identity is normally revealed soon after the white smoke emerges, when he steps onto the balcony to wave to the crowds in St Peter’s Square.

World

Putin prepares to host dozens of world leaders for Victory Day parade in major PR coup for Moscow

Published

2 hours ago

May 7, 2025

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Putin prepares to host dozens of world leaders for Victory Day parade in major PR coup for Moscow

It’s hard not to view the motivating factor behind Vladimir Putin’s latest unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine as one of timing.

Starting today, the three-day truce coincides with Russia’s lavish celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany.

The main event will be a huge military Victory Day parade on Red Square on Friday, where the Russian president will be welcoming more than two dozen world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the ceasefire proposal as theatre, and a cynical ploy by Mr Putin to protect his parade, rather than human lives.

It’s certainly true that the Kremlin wants to put on a good show – not just for its guests but for the rest of the world.

The arrival of so many heads of state, including the leaders of Brazil, Egypt and Vietnam – is a major PR coup for Moscow, and a chance to show the West that its efforts to isolate Russia have failed.

Announcing the guestlist earlier this week, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov claimed it was “an indicator of Russia’s growing authority in the world”.

With that in mind, a Ukrainian attack on the parade would be seriously embarrassing for Mr Putin.

In theory it could happen – Kyiv hasn’t committed to the ceasefire, instead calling for a 30-day pause, and has said it can’t guarantee the safety of foreign dignitaries who are visiting Russia – but I think it’s highly unlikely.

It would risk damaging relations with Donald Trump, whose stance regarding peace talks appears to have shifted recently in Kyiv’s favour.

But Ukraine is still doing its best to disrupt the preparations here. Multiple drone attacks over the past few days have forced Moscow’s airports to repeatedly suspend operations, just as foreign leaders have been flying in.

Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic reportedly took 10 hours to reach Moscow after his flight had to stopover in Azerbaijan. While more drones targeted Moscow just before Mr Xi touched down on Wednesday afternoon.

It’s an attempt by Ukraine to humiliate Mr Putin, and to convey to his guests how much it disapproves of their visit, which it regards as a show of support for Russia’s invasion.

World

India will ‘pay the price’ for ‘blatant mistake’ says Pakistan PM

Published

3 hours ago

May 7, 2025

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India will 'pay the price' for 'blatant mistake' says Pakistan PM

Pakistan’s prime minister has pledged to retaliate after India’s deadly missile strike, saying the country will “now have to pay the price” for their “blatant mistake”.

In a televised address on state broadcaster PTV, Shehbaz Sharif responded to Wednesday’s attack in Pakistan’s Punjab province and Pakistan-administered parts of Kashmir, which a military spokesperson said had killed at least 31 civilians and wounded 46.

“For the blatant mistake that India made last night, it will now have to pay the price,” he said. “Perhaps they thought that we would retreat, but they forgot that… this is a nation of brave people.”

India said it struck nine Pakistani sites that provided “terrorist infrastructure”, which India said was the source of attacks against it. India’s defence minister claimed no civilian population was impacted.

Islamabad insisted that none of the locations targeted in Pakistan were militant camps.

India explained its strikes were in retaliation for the terrorist attack on 22 April, in which at least 26 people were shot dead by gunmen at a beauty spot near the resort town of Pahalgam in the India-administered part of Kashmir.

Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both sides claim in full and control in part.

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Indian forces attacked facilities linked to Islamist militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, two Indian military spokespeople told a briefing in New Delhi, in what New Delhi called “Operation Sindoor”.

Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri said the strikes were to pre-empt further attacks on India.

Pakistan’s military says exchanges of fire continued late Wednesday along the Line of Control, the border between it and India in Kashmir.

Pakistan also claimed it shot down several Indian aircraft on Wednesday, including three fighter jets that fell in India-administered Kashmir and India’s northern Punjab state.

Calls for restraint

Donald Trump said he wants to see India and Pakistan “work it out. I want to see them stop, and hopefully they can stop now. And if I can do anything to help, I will be there”.

There were also calls for restraint from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, China, Russia and the UK.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai told The World with Yalda Hakim that India and Pakistan “have to unite against the forces” trying to divide them.

“I hope that Pakistan and India and the international community will come together in this moment to try to de-escalate the tensions and promote peace, start a dialogue, because that is the only forward for all of us,” she said.

Separately, the UK’s Foreign Office has advised Britons against all travel within 10km of the India-Pakistan border.

It has warned against travelling to the region of Jammu and Kashmir – including Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, the city of Srinagar and the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The advice also suggests avoiding Manipur, in northeastern India.