Caribbeans seek reparations for slavery

For centuries, the colonies of European powers suffered from the imperialists’ unjust acts, such as the Atlantic slave trade and colonisation. Now, 15 members of the Caribbean Community are filing a lawsuit against Britain, France and the Netherlands for the lasting effects of the slave trade; the countries claim they are still living in the shadows of past and present oppression. The discussion continues as experts and governments of both sides debate on how to best resolve former wrongdoings.

Although the Caribbean community, better known as Caricom, is divided politically and culturally, it shares the burden of centuries of economic exploitation. Each country has set up its own reparations committee, with the chair of each attending the Caricom meetings.

Dr. Nicola Frith of Bangor University advised:

It’s a complex case, with three different governments and three different histories. But there are strengths in collective action, instead of trying to have individual voices heard.”

Between 1700 and 1810, the British shipped more than three million Africans to the Caribbean. It is responsible for transporting the largest amount of slaves, with over a million to Jamaica and more than 600,000 to Cuba. France brought close to a million people to Haiti, and the Netherlands almost 300,000 to Suriname.

Prime Minister Gonsalves of St. Vincent approached the well-known lawyers of Leigh Day to assist them in proving the case’s relevance today. The law firm recently won compensation for the Kenyans who were tortured by the British in the Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s. Martyn Day, the founding partner of the company, said that although they have expertise in bringing historic claims, the two cases are very different. There is a greater length of time being considered and none of the direct victims are alive in the Caribbean situation.

Frith said:

The former slaves gave up their freedoms in exchange for their loyalty to the colonizers. It’s time to put pressure on the government and instruct lawyers to do something about it.”

Dr. Laurent Dubois of Duke University recommended the goal should be creating social and structural transformations both locally, within the Caribbean, and globally. This plan can

truly confront the forms of racial exclusion, labour exploitation, and political marginalisation that are linked to broader histories.”

The cases will be brought against individual countries, but Day said Caricom plans to extend it to the International Court of Justice “if no resolution is reached.”

Proponents of reparations argue imperialists still enjoy the prosperous economies built during the slave trade, but the countries exploited have still not gained from it.

Day explains that Europeans

are the ones who benefited from slavery during the industrial revolution. It is the Caribbean that has had to struggle with its past, where the ongoing impact of slavery remains so strong.”

After the abolition of slavery in 1833, the British plantation owners were given 20 million pounds, equivalent to billions today, according to University College London professor, Nick Draper. After its independence, Haiti was required to pay the French 90 million gold francs, around 90 billion euros today, to reimburse the slave traders’ loss in profits. So, although the slave owners were compensated for “losing their property”, those enslaved did not receive any reparations.

Frith adds to the argument:

Negative representations of ethnic minorities have its roots in slavery. The inability of certain countries to develop their economies can be traced to the power structures set up then.”

Although no one can go back and undo history, Dubois is hopeful reparations will “find ways of reversing the continuing legacies of slavery.”

There is continuing talks on what kinds of reparations Caricom is seeking from the governments and how to assess the financial cost of slavery, if discussing monetary funds.

Frith is adamant on not allowing the media to limit reparations to just financial compensation:

This makes reparations seem as something to be feared, and we are then held hostage to the past instead of opening up the discussion.”

She believes it’s important to specify what reparations even mean:

If we are discussing monetary reparations, then there is the question of who pays, how much, to whom, and why?”

Day explained:

We will be working with the academics, social historians and economists of the Caribbean to work out what the claims are,”

He anticipates Caricom asking for specific programs to be made in the Caribbean, such as a museum on the slave trade.

Professor John Oldfield of the University of Hull said although paying reparations to individuals would certainly improve their standards of living, it’s questionable if the money would benefit the Caribbean economies. He argues that people may use the funds to emigrate for a better life; so although regional development funds may help the economy, it’s difficult to prioritise how the money would be spent.

He also agrees that development projects, such as "reforming the school curriculum and creating slavery museums can help repair historic wrongs.”

Dubois advocated:

Caribbean governments should find ways to invite the population into the discussion.”

The consultation of how the money should be spent can

truly bring about a shift in lives and horizons of possibility, within the region and the world”.

Frith explained part of the reparations could be to create educational centres and guarantee access to archives for everyone. This way, the legacies of slavery, such as racism and inequality, could begin to be resolved.

She also acknowledged that not all former colonies in the Caribbean are part of this debate. The French islands, such as Martinique, French Guyana and Guadalupe, also endured slavery but their voices are lacking in the efforts to repair damages.

The injustice of slavery has been addressed by Western powers before, without reaching any effective resolutions. In 2001, France said slavery was a “crime against humanity” but did not call for reparations. The British foreign secretary William Hague also condemned slavery, but publicly opposed reparations as the answer to dealing with its legacies.

Frith sustained that “reparation is a polemical word” most politicians are uncomfortable in confronting. Political figures recognizing history and issuing apologies are symbolic acts and a step forward.

However, in an effort to please as many people in the political game, Frith believes François Hollande missed the opportunity to open the public debate during France’s slavery remembrance day in May.

The French President spoke against reparations, explaining:

History cannot be rubbed out. It cannot be subjected to an accounting process that…would be impossible to complete.”

Dubois suggested France and Holland tackle how the past is shaping the present by considering a large-scale reform of history education:

[It] would allow European citizens to really grapple and deal with the relationship between history of slavery, the slave trade, and their contemporary societies.”

Other critics of reparations argue that the European Union is already assisting the Caribbean nations through development aid. In the next six years, 1.4 billion dollars will be given to the region, although the funds are not specific to slavery.

Considering both perspectives of the argument, Oldfield argued determining responsibility is not so simple and has multiple jurisdictions. 

Part of Britain’s defence in such a case would be that the slave trade was an extremely complicated trade involving a large number of participants, such as American traders sometimes flying under foreign flags.”

The publicity of this case can influence other former colonies to seek reparations, depending on the outcome.

Oldfield explained there could be a “knock-on-effect” with African nations also seeking reparations, citing depopulation and economic underdevelopment as harms committed by Europeans.

He added:

There might be other former colonies that would want to pursue individual or collective claims as a result of the outcome of this case, which is another reason the British government will resist.”

According to Frith, the process of repairing is multi-faceted, involving recognition, then reparation, and finally reconciliation. Slavery was an irreparable crime against humanity and she believes it is about how we respond to the past in the present.

Dubois added that analysing the outcome of slavery is

“a way of critiquing our contemporary social order and building alternatives.”

Reparations will provide an opportunity to work through the painful injustices, learn from history and offer a voice to those affected.

Nilay Tuncok