As horrors of slave trade linger, 2 Caribbean nations prepare to seek reparations from British MP

As the world continues to reckon with the dark and dreadful history of slavery, Jamaica is preparing to launch legal proceedings for reparations from British lawmaker Richard Drax, whose ancestors were pioneers of the sugar and slave trades in the Caribbean about 400 years ago amid the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The former British colony was under the slave trade monopoly that the crown had given the Royal African Company in 1672, according to an entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica, later becoming one of the world's busiest slave markets.

Members of the Drax family were among the earliest English colonists to go to Jamaica and Barbados, establishing several sugar plantations on both Caribbean islands, according to British news outlets.

Reports showed that Drax has previously said his family's slave-trading past was "deeply, deeply regrettable," yet "no one can be held responsible today for what happened many hundreds of years ago."

Barbados is also seeking reparations from the wealthy Tory MP, issuing a list of demands during a visit Drax recently made to the island, which includes the use of the land owned by his family for low-income social housing and an "Afro-centric" museum, as well as funding for some of the work, according to a recent report from The Guardian.

If Drax refuses, Barbados has suggested that it, like Jamaica, may resort to legal proceedings.

In a book published in 2003 and titled "Englishmen Transplanted: The English Colonization of Barbados, 1627-1660," Larry Dale Gragg showed that early experiments in sugar planting by Drax and others settlers in Barbados began in around 1640.

Barbados quickly became a major sugar supplier for Europe. By the mid-1650s, sugar production had largely supplanted tobacco and all other crops as the dominant economic activity of the island.

Some historians also thought Drax family members were among the architects of the inhumane conditions slaves were made to suffer on Barbados, which they described as profligate and immoral, suggesting that families who can trace their inheritance to slavery should be held responsible.

Caribbean countries tortured by European colonial powers have been eyeing reparations, though progress has been hard to make.

Lawyers familiar with Jamaica's case are not optimistic about its most recent move, as they believe there must be clear evidence showing that Drax benefited from the assets and wealth his ancestors got from the slave trade.

- TORMENT REMAINS

Slavery has existed in various forms since ancient times, seen even today in many parts of the world and gaining a different dimension in recent times.

One of the most important thinkers who defined slavery was Bernardin of Saint-Pierre who described slavery in his work "Voyagea L'lle-de-France."

"I don't know if sugar and coffee are necessary for the happiness of Europeans. But I know that these two products cause unhappiness in two continents of the world. First the Americas were evacuated to obtain agricultural land, and now Africa is being evacuated to find people to work on these lands."

The slave trade from Africa to the Americas is considered the largest forced migration in human history.

According to the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database, in 1525-1866, nearly 12.5 million Africans were shipped to the New World. Some contemporary historians estimate the number to be as high as 25 million or even 40 million.

The effects of this largest forced migration in human history are, unsurprisingly, evident even today, as indicated clearly by the speech of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Marking the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery on Friday, Guterres said that societies remain scarred by the historical suffering of enslaved Africans and are unable to give everyone the same development opportunities.

"The legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade reverberates to this day, just as modern-day enslavement is growing," he underlined.

The UN chief also urged countries to fight against all forms of contemporary slavery, from people trafficking to sexual exploitation, child labor, forced marriage, and the use of children in armed conflict.

The most recent data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) indicates that forced labor and forced marriage have risen remarkably in the last five years.

According to the UN, there were around 10 million more people enslaved across the globe in 2021 than had been projected in 2016, with the total at 50 million worldwide.

"Increased action needs to be taken with full participation of all stakeholders, including the private sector, trade unions, civil society and human rights institutions," he said. "I also urge all countries to protect and uphold the rights of victims and survivors of slavery."