London. King Charles III danced with two cowbells in his hand. on the streets of Nassau. The British monarch received a fitting welcome at the traditional Junkanoo festival on his visit to the Bahamas - but the happy images were overshadowed by an issue that has embarrassed Britain for over two centuries: Is there a proper way to deal with its own role in the slave trade, which continues to shape the Caribbean to this day?
This Tuesday, the king will deliver a speech at the Commonwealth Summit (Chogm) in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, in which he will speak with "ruthless honesty," "sincere sadness" and respect about the ongoing suffering of the transatlantic slave trade, the palace said. Charles III will formally apologize. But according to reports he doesn't - according to his own understanding he can't do that at all.
It would be “inappropriate” for the king, as head of the Commonwealth, to comment on specific policy issues that “affect the position of the British government,” the palace said. And so far, Downing Street has avoided an official apology - probably particularly because of concerns about even louder demands for reparations. The still relatively new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has now indicated a change of course.
His government is offering a structured dialogue with all those affected, Burnham wrote in the newspaper “The Guardian”: “Listening to calls for an official apology on behalf of the British state will be an important part of this process, and I am open to it.” The British were “world leaders” in abolishing slavery. “And we can show leadership again today,” Burnham wrote.
Great Britain was a leading power in the slave trade, particularly in the 18th century. As part of the transatlantic human trafficking, it is estimated that between 1640 and 1807 around three million Africans were transported by English ships to the British colonies in the Caribbean, North and South America and other countries. Only around 2.7 million people probably reached the goal.
The slave trade from Africa was banned in what was then the British Empire from May 1, 1807, and slavery itself was not abolished in the colonies until 1834. “I would like to express my condolences and regret for the pain and suffering of so many millions and recognize how this continues to shape our world today,” wrote Burnham, who will also attend the Commonwealth summit as British Prime Minister. However, like his predecessors, the Prime Minister has ruled out reparations.
Contrary to the demands of several Caribbean countries, Burnham said he does not believe that “the British of today can be held responsible for historical injustices, however heinous.” Reparations payments are not “the right answer”. He received support on Sunday from his finance minister John Healey. Considering a formal apology does not mean that Britons should today accept financial responsibility for events that occurred hundreds of years ago and in which they were not involved, the minister told the BBC.
Burnham, however, was criticized by the British opposition leader Kemi Badenoch. She argued that even an apology would give countries a reason to demand money from Britain. “Slavery was an evil that involved people from every continent and region,” wrote the Tory leader on Platform X.
Badenoch asked whether Caribbean states would “then also demand an apology from the descendants of African kingdoms, rulers and traders.” If every Commonwealth summit results in demands being made to Great Britain for monetary payments, “then we have to ask ourselves whether this effort is even worth it,” Badenoch wrote.
During the king's last few days of travel, there had been occasional protests in the respective cities. “Pay what you owe us,” read a poster in the crowd at the parade in Nassau. A banner another day read: "Regret is not enough. We need a full apology." At the beginning of his journey, Charles III. said in Nassau that it was logical to “recognize the great suffering and injustices of the past on these islands and beyond.”
Guyana's President Irfaan Ali said Charles recognized slavery as the "darkest days of human history" - but an apology would be the next step. The Caribbean Community (Caricom) has been campaigning for reparations payments for years. The head of government of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, welcomed the British Prime Minister's statement, but she reiterated that the issue of reparations must be discussed further. “We should build on this common ground as we continue to talk about our differences,” she wrote in a statement shared on the X platform.
