The countries that suffered slavery and colonialism, especially those in the Caribbean, are pushing for a different approach to the United Kingdom ' s slave past. In his view, it is time to talk about the British past “in a meaningful, sincere and respectful manner”. The Caribbean leaders believe that the resistance that the British place in dealing with this issue is not sustainable.

Britain’s Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he is prepared to discuss the issue and put it in the last paper on the conclusions of the meeting, but there will be no “financial compensation”.

At the moment, Downing Street refuses to apologize or to pay monetary compensation, but is now ready to discuss the reform of financial institutions lending to the Commonwealth countries and to alleviate the debt of indebted states.

Keir Starmer has arrived in Samoa this Wednesday. It is also significant that he was the British Prime Minister who visited an island state in the Pacific for the first time. There he said: “Of course, slavery is absolutely odious for everyone, both trade and practice, so there’s no question. But I prefer to put my sleeves together and work hand in hand with those countries that were enslaved, in the face of the challenges of the future, without spending too much time on the past. We cannot change our history, but we certainly have to talk about it.”

“Holocaust of slavery”

One of the founders of the compensation commission that drives these issues was Ralfh Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vicent and Grenadines, who stressed that “it is very important to draw up a plan that recognises reparative justice, that takes into account the psychological and socio-economic impact of slavery in time.”

Gonsalves says that the British committed genocide with the Indians and Africans and traumatized them, “but in the abolition of slavery, the millionaire reparations were granted to the slaves, while to those who suffered slavery and to the oppressed, nothing. The latter had nothing to start building: no land, no appearance, no education. This legacy of slavery and oppression continues to affect the nations of the Caribbean.”

The Caribbean Governments and local civil society have remained firmly on the issue and call on the Government of the United Kingdom, the Bank of England and the Church of England to adopt an appropriate strategy to support post-colonialist reconstruction: “The United Kingdom received the Marshall Plan after the Second World War, but refuses to commit itself to the Caribbean when it has suffered the Holocaust of slavery.”

Millions of slaves in the Caribbean

According to Black History Month Magazine, between the 17th and 19th centuries the British took 3.1 million slaves to their Caribbean colonies to work on sugar, tobacco and coffee plantations.

Slavery. In the book A History of Humanity, Philipp Curtin gave in 1969 the number of slaves that were forcibly moved from Africa to America between 1501 and 1868: Between 11 and 12 million people, mostly men and children. These quantities are currently being maintained.

According to the author of the book, Michael Zeuske, the most important slave trade of the 18th century. –“in the century of enlightenment” – and in the 19th century – “in the century of European civilization” – when slavery was already legally prohibited. According to their estimates, between 9.4 and 12 million people on board arrived in America.