Charles III "Slave trade, a terrible injustice"... Britain draws a line on compensation

As the British government is considering a formal apology for the past transatlantic slave trade, King Charles III has repeatedly expressed regret, calling the past slave trade a "terrible injustice."

The British government's position is that it can acknowledge historical wrongdoing, but that it is difficult to provide financial compensation, leading to continued opposition from former colonies in the Caribbean and African countries.

Charles III, who is touring the Caribbean Commonwealth countries, spoke about the slave trade at the opening of the Commonwealth Summit in Antigua and Barbuda on the 3rd (local time), according to AFP and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Charles III said: "As I have said before, that shameful chapter of history fills my heart with horror and my soul with the deepest personal sorrow."

However, Charles III did not issue an official apology for the slave trade. Charles III, the head of state of 14 countries, including the United Kingdom and Jamaica, has expressed his desire to correct historical wrongs for several years, but the royal family's position is that an official apology is a government decision.

According to the slave trade database 'Slave Voyages' cited by WSJ, about 12 million Africans were forcibly transported to America across the Atlantic Ocean from the 16th to the 19th centuries. British ships transported about a quarter of this.

As the abolition movement began in the late 18th century, Britain made the slave trade illegal in 1807 and deployed the Royal Navy to block ships carrying slaves. In 1833, it was agreed to completely outlaw slavery in the British Empire and to spend 40% of the government's annual budget to free slaves throughout the empire. The debt owed by the British government to compensate slave owners was not fully repaid until 2015.

Former colonial countries have been demanding that the British government acknowledge its historical wrongs and make compensation for the past several decades.

In 2013, 15 countries belonging to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) officially demanded reparations for slavery, and the African Union (AU) also supported this in 2023. Jamaica recently filed a lawsuit seeking compensation from the British monarch.

The British government is willing to formally apologize for Britain's responsibility for the slave trade, but is maintaining its position that compensation is difficult.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham repeatedly told reporters on the 3rd, "We have been very clear that we do not support reparations," adding, "But that does not mean we will not support the development of Commonwealth countries and help them resolve the debt problems they have."

According to estimates by a consulting firm for the University of the West Indies, Britain owes $24 trillion in compensation to the 14-member Caribbean group for slavery.

Kemi Badennock, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, pressured Prime Minister Burnham not to make an official apology.

“We should not be giving people reparations for the slave trade. Prime Minister Burnham should not even be offering an apology,” he said, because that could open the door to financial demands.

Today, former colonial powers express regret over the slave trade carried out on an industrial scale, but have avoided formal apologies for fear of a wave of compensation claims.

In Europe, only the Netherlands issued an official national apology for the slave trade in 2022, and a year later the King of the Netherlands also personally apologized for the royal family's role at the time. The Dutch government also did not pay compensation, but instead announced that it would create a fund worth 200 million euros for education and commemorative projects. Afterwards, the company was sued for compensation by a small number of individuals, but the payment details were not made public.

No U.S. president has ever officially apologized for slavery. In the past, Congress passed a resolution formally apologizing for slavery, but it did not include an obligation to pay reparations.