LONDON, 24 April, 2023: CARICOM’s reparations effort received a boost today, when the descendants of some of the most prominent names in the history of British slavery, called on the British government to begin long-requested talks on reconciliation and reparative justice, for the descendants of the 3.1 million enslaved African people transported across the Atlantic by Britain.
Authors, journalists, businesspeople and a direct descendant of the Victorian prime minister William Gladstone, are among the members of a new lobby group launched today called Heirs of Slavery, set up to support campaigns to address ‘the ongoing consequences of this crime against humanity’.
‘British slavery was legal, industrialised and based entirely on race,’ said Alex Renton, one of the group. ‘Britain has never apologised for it, and its after-effects still harm people’s lives in Britain as well as in the Caribbean countries where our ancestors made money.’
My ancestors profited from slavery. Here’s how I am starting to atone for that says Alex Renton.Renton told the Guardian: “You aren’t responsible for what your ancestors did. You are responsible for what you do,” says the writer on culture and racism Emma Dabiri.
I examined my ancestors’ involvement in a book published two years ago. Now I, and others with similar histories, have decided we should go further.
We’ve tried to listen and learn from the descendants of those who were enslaved. Today, we launch a new lobbying group – Heirs of Slavery. We hope to support the existing movements asking nations and institutions for apology and discussions about repair.
First on that list is the CARICOM group of nations and its 10-point action plan for reparative justice, delivered to Britain and other European nations in 2014. That request for talks has been derided and ignored in Britain (though not by the governments of Denmark and the Netherlands).
Acknowledgement, repair and reconciliation: these are good things to work for in modern Britain. We hope more heirs will join us.
They are many. Records from the 1830s show that 46,000 individuals, including two of my three-times great-grandfathers, received British governmental compensation for “giving up their slaves” at abolition, which was completed in 1838.
Some put the money into land, or into shares in railways and the other tech startups of the British industrial revolution. That huge injection of cash seeded new fortunes: some of those families remain among the richest and most powerful in our country today.”
The group includes David Lascelles (the Earl of Harewood), retired social worker Rosemary Harrison, businessman Charles Gladstone, the former BBC correspondent Laura Trevelyan, author and publisher Richard Atkinson, retired schoolteacher Robin Wedderburn, film director John Dower and journalist Alex Renton, who is son of a former Conservative cabinet minister.
Members of the group have publicly acknowledged that their ancestors’ wealth was in part derived from plantations worked by enslaved Africans, and for whom the slave-owners received compensation at British slavery’s abolition in the 1830s. Harrison’s ancestor was a slave-owner and Attorney General in Jamaica in the late eighteenth century.
‘We encourage the hundreds of thousands of people in Britain with similar family histories to explore and acknowledge them. Until the painful legacy of slavery is recognised by the descendants of those who profited from it, there can never be healing,’ said Richard Atkinson.
‘I joined this group in an attempt to begin to address the appalling ills visited on so many people by my ancestor John Gladstone,’ said Charles Gladstone.
The group and their families have all made private donations to tackle poverty, poor education and other issues affecting the descendants of the enslaved in Britain and Caribbean countries. ‘This group wants to move beyond personal donations, which can never be enough,’ said Rosemary Harrison.
‘We wish to offer our energy and support to the existing movements, led by CARICOM and others, that are seeking reparative justice from the European nations and the institutions that were enriched by the industries dependent on enslaved African people.’
Caribbean countries whose people endured slavery and its aftermath are now calling for the former colonial powers to invest in their health and education systems, and for the cancellation of debts. Meanwhile the group is in conversation with British people descended from the enslaved of the Caribbean countries, and who experience racism, poverty and inequality that derives from it.
‘I would like to listen and learn from the descendants of the enslaved to find out what would best help them in their lives today. Please tell us how apology and repair, led by the British nation, should work,’ said Robin Wedderburn.
‘Those of us in this group share a dark history, one that we are endeavouring to be open about in the hope of encouraging dialogue, friendship and reconciliation between all the people whose lives have been affected. We urge other people with a similar history, both individuals and institutions, to join us in speaking out,’ said David Lascelles.
‘After so long, the reparatory justice movement is gaining momentum in Europe. Whether it’s the Dutch government, the Church of England, or the British Royal Family, the enduring and painful legacy of slavery is finally starting to be acknowledged by those who benefited from it,’ said Laura Trevelyan.
Earlier this year, Trevelyan who resigned from the BBC to work on furthering the concept of reparations, publicly apologised to the people of Grenada for her aristocratic ancestors’ ownership of more than 1,000 slaves – with her family donating £100,000 in reparations. Trevelyan’s family owned 1,004 slaves across six plantations in Grenada.
In 1834, her family received about £34,000 pounds, the equivalent of about 3 million pounds today, as compensation for their slave holding. You can check if your ancestors were among those compensated after abolition, sharing some £17bn in today’s money, through University College London’s Legacies of British Slavery project (LBS), and its searchable database.
Calvin G. Brown
Calvin G. Brown is a veteran broadcaster, print journalist and communication specialist, who has served many news organizations throughout the Caribbean.
