SOME OF the descendants of Britain’s most richest slave owners have today called on the British government to apologise for slavery.
The Heirs of Slavery group are also urging Britain begin long-requested talks on reconciliation and reparative justice for the descendants of the 3.1m enslaved African people transported across the Atlantic by Britain – as part of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
The group is made up of authors, journalists, businesspeople and a direct descendant of the Victorian prime minister William Gladstone, and want Britain to face up to “the ongoing consequences of this crime against humanity.”
“British slavery was legal, industrialised and based entirely on race,” Alex Renton, one of the group’s founders, said.
“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.”
The group includes the Earl of Harewood, David Lascelles, 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.
Earlier this year, Ms Trevelyan announced she was leaving the corporation – after thirty years – to join the Caribbean’s fight for slavery reparations.
This came a few weeks after Ms Trevelyan and other members of her family apologised for their ancestor’s role in slavery on the Caribbean island of Grenada.
“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,” Ms Trevelyan said.
Members of the group have all publicly acknowledged that their ancestors’ wealth was in part derived from enslaving African people and forcing them to work on plantations.
The slave-owners all received compensation when slavery was abolished in Britain in the 1830s.
However, those who were enslaved and their descendants are yet to be compensated.
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, which one member says “can never be enough.”
“This group wants to move beyond personal donations, which can never be enough,” said Ms 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.”
Ms Harrison’s ancestor was a slave-owner and Attorney General in Jamaica in the late eighteenth century.
Mr Atkinson wants people in Britain who may have slave-owners as ancestors to face the truth about their family history.
“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,” Mr Atkinson said.
Last year, London’s first memorial to the Transatlantic Slave Trade was unveiled in Gladstone Park, a park is named after former Prime Minister Sir William Gladstone, whose family owed plantations in the Caribbean and received the largest of all compensation payments made by the Slave Compensation Commission.
John Gladstone, father of the former PM, was paid £106,000 compensation after abolition of slavery – which is believed to be worth at least £17m today.
His direct descendant, Charles Gladstone, has joined the campaign group as a way to “address” his family’s historic links to slavery.
“I joined this group in an attempt to begin to address the appalling ills visited on so many people by my ancestor John Gladstone,” he said.
Caribbean leaders have been calling for reparations for some time from former colonial powers.
In September 2022, leading Jamaican politician Lisa Hanna urged Britain to pay reparations for its role in slavery.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has also told The Voice that now was the time for reparations.
There continues to be a growing reparations movement across The Caribbean.
In March last year, The Advocates Network, wrote an open letter signed by up to 100 Jamaican organisations and leading figures in opposition to the Prince William and Kate’s tour of the Caribbean.
The letter called for an official apology about slavery to be made.
The new group say they are keen to listen to descendants of those who were enslaved to find out how they can help address. and repair the legacy of slavery.
“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,” Mr Wedderburn added.
“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,” Mr Lascelles said.
The Caricom Reparations Commission is the leading voice on reparations in the Caribbean and has a ten point action plan that they believe will begin the path to reconciliation, truth, and justice for the victims of slavery and their descendants.
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His Majesty’s African-Caribbean heritage Subjects, as a direct result of two centuries of enslavement to the Monarch, and the Banking interests of the English Empire; and the Anglican, and Protestant Churches, African-Caribbean heritage men and women have emerged severely politically: historically, theologically, psychologically, and culturally damaged: to a degree that we have been unable to create: galvanise, nurture and support African-Caribbean heritage leaders; with an African-Caribbean creed, specifically developed to provide justice and rehabilitation from two centuries of English Slavery.
The fractured state of England’s African-Caribbean heritage Subjects today, is the result of two centuries of English enslavement; and secondly, of being politically abused; deceived and marginalised by Labour and the political Left.
For these reasons, I call on Heirs of Slavery, to assist England’s African-Caribbean heritage Subjects, to assist with the creation of a specific political creed, and leaders, who are solely dedicated to providing justice; rehabilitation and judicial Advocacy, for England’s African-Caribbean heritage Subjects.
This assistance from the Heirs of Slavery, would be of great assistance to England’s African-Caribbean heritage Subjects, and the people and institutions of England.
I look forward to engaging with the Heirs of Slavery.
Britain has already apologised in 1800’s, but the UK has nothing to apologise for,considering UK didn’t enslave any Africans,they were already enslaved by fellow black people,then sold to anyone interested,the fellow black people who are still selling slaves as I write my comment,& talking about apologies,how about a thankyou for UK being the first ever nation in history,to make slavery illegal even going to war with African & muslim nations,still practicing slavery,& not just their own,black people were still enslaving people during & after,trans Atlantic slavery had stopped,taking the whole inhabitants of the island of Malta into slavery,raiding Ireland,Cornwall,Devon,Iceland,all the British Isles,KIDNAPPING(not buying from locals) people into slavery,the problem was so bad,the usa formed a group to police the waters from African slave traders,this lookout group are the beginnings & origin was the very reason USA navy was formed,because of African slave traders,in Fact black people have enslaved more black & white people than Europe put together,& because of slavery black people have benefited a 1000 fold in countless ways than any white people,you might not like hearing this,but it’s the absolute unbiased truth,there were just as many black slave owners as white ones,I know you don’t care whatsoever about slavery & like the racist group blm,about black lives,because I don’t hear you protest about black slavery happening right this second,or thousands of black lives being murdered by your own,all the atrocities black people in Africa,USA,UK,especially black controlled places & countries,NO! Not a word,Strange! Not really,it’s emphasising how racist black people really are,& looks like black people don’t like the fact its white people who had black slaves & seem to be superior & very intelligent creators,obviously bad things happen,but slaves were treated better than poor white folk,people were abused,but nobody abuses or kills slaves willy-nilly without no reason,slaves cost money,they weren’t cheap,so to abuse or starve them for fun,it’d be financial ruin,so a lot of black slaves ate better than a lot of poor white people,the fact white people had the upper hand,& had black slaves,caused inferiority & superiority complexes & jealousy,which still gets to black people,showing extreme racism from black people,causes being a jealous inferiority complexe,aswel a feeling of embarrassment,in fact a black person even mentioning slavery,IS & CAN be considered racism & racist towards white people,because colour & race is all you talk about, because you can’t get over the fact,white people had black slaves,& can’t seem to get over it,even though black people have enslaved a hell of a lot more than anybody else on the planet,pay attention,& you’ll see you haven’t any more glass windows to smash on your greenhouse,& just before I go there’s more white people murdered by black people,than black people murdered by white people in the UK, everything I’ve stated is 100% the absolute truth
99% of white people could not vote or feed their children and any challenge to the establishment ended up in deportation to Australia or to labour camps yet the descendants of the slaver owners expect us to apologies for their ancestors. These rich families that profited from slavery and still own swathes of property should give it up as compensation instead.
The same call was made by John Dower of the Trevelyan family at yesterday’s African African Remembrance Day (ARD) meeting in the Docklands, whilst No Gladstone in the Park/Ethical Name Change are campaigning for the removal of the Gladstone name from the a park in Neasden, Brent.