Slavery and the slave trade formed the basis of the Atlantic economy from the late fifteenth century until the nineteenth century. The first slave voyage from Africa to the Americas was undertaken in the early sixteenth century. From this time until 1867, enslaved Africans were transported from numerous regions on the continent, including the Upper Guinea Coast, the Bight of Biafra, the Bight of Benin, the Gold Coast and Angola. Approximately 12.5 million enslaved Africans embarked on ships on the coast and approximately 10.7 million enslaved Africans disembarked in the Americas. The Middle Passage claimed the lives of 12-13% of those who were forced to make the crossing. The survivors were forced to work in a range of spaces, but the majority were put to work on plantations. The British, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and Danish were all heavily involved in the trade.
Britain was responsible for shipping approximately 3.1 million individuals in the period between 1660-1807. At the height of the trade in human beings in the eighteenth century, Britain forcibly transported more human cargo than any other nation. The majority of individuals on British ships were destined for the Caribbean. It is estimated that 2.2 million Africans were transported to the Caribbean to labour on plantations producing crops, in particular sugar, for export, and hence the creation of wealth for planters, merchants, and the British economy.
Britain’s ‘Sorrow’
The Guardian, 26 November 2006
Blair: Britain’s ‘sorrow’ for shame of slave trade
· Historic statement condemns ‘crime against humanity’
· Critics say Prime Minister has fallen short of full apology
Livingstone apologises for slavery
The Guardian, 24 August 2007
Ken Livingstone marked the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade with an emotional and tearful ceremonial apology on behalf of the capital city and its institutions
In March 2007 (the bicentenary of the Slave Trade Act) Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed Britain’s ‘deep sorrow’ for its ‘shameful’ involvement in the slave trade. The expression of ‘deep sorrow’ received mixed results from members of the African diaspora and campaigners. It was also criticised for failing to mention any reference to reparations.
Mixed response to slave ‘sorrow’
BBC News, 27 November 2006
Tony Blair’s expression of ‘deep sorrow’ over the UK’s role in the slave trade has received a mixed response
Bishops call for Blair slavery apology
The Guardian, 25 March 2007
Expressing Britain’s ‘profound regret’ is not enough, Archbishop of the West Indies says
NAAR supports the Mayor of London’s apology
National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR), 28 August 2007
NAAR supports the Mayor of London’s apology for slavery for London, marking the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, and joins him in calling for a national memorial day on 23rd AugustChurch’s slavery apology ‘is not enough’
The Telegraph, 11 February 2006
Article featuring an interview with a descendent of slaves from the Codrington plantation in Barbados
The Anglican Church and Its Slavery Apology Past as the USPG Celebrates 310th Anniversary: Is an Apology Enough
Article reviewing the church’s historical involvement in slavery, looking in particular at The Codrington Slave Plantation
Peter Hain criticised for ‘slave trade apology’
Ligali, 15 February 2007
The Northern Ireland and Wales secretary and MP for Neath, Peter Hain, has been criticised for what has erroneously been described by the BBC and the Guardian as a ‘slavery apology’2007 UNESCO commemorative events
UNESCO events commemorating 200 years of the abolition of the slate trade by the United Kingdom
UN General Assembly President on International Day for Commemoration 2007
United Nations, Headquarters, New York, 26 March 2007
H.E. Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, The President Of The United Nations General Assembly, at the Commeration To Celebrate 200 Years Of The Abolition Of The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
UK museums mark the bicentenary
Culture24, 17 August 2007
Article outlining the events taking place at UK museums for Slavery Remembrance Day, 2007Church remembers slavery in radicals’ park
BBC News, 24 March 2007
Christians gathered in London’s Kennington Park to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade
UN: International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery, 25 March
Link to the latest UN page for the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
In 1807, the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade brought an end to the British slave trade. This was followed by the abolition of slavery in the British Caribbean in 1833. Emancipation was accompanied by the payment of £20 million of compensation money to British slave owners. The cause of British abolition has been the source of extensive historical debate. Scholars have variously stressed economic factors, the influence of enslaved resistance and rebellion in the Caribbean, the role of religion and humanitarian concerns, and shifting political fortunes. In his statement of ‘sorrow’, Prime Minister Tony Blair made no mention of reparations.
CARICOM reparations commission statement December 2013
Statement delivered by Professor Sir Hilary Beckles (Chairman) on behalf of the CARICOM Reparations Commission Press Conference Regional Headquarters, UWI 10th December 2013
Chairman of CARICOM reparations commission addresses House of Commons
Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, in a presentation to the British House of Commons on 16 July 2014, expressed the view that the reparations process will bring honour and dignity to the people of the Caribbean as well as the people of Great Britain and Europe
CARICOM nations approve 10 point plan
Leighday.com, 11 March 2014
A meeting of CARICOM nations in St Vincent approved unanimously a ten-point plan proposed by the Caricom Reparations Commission to achieve reparatory justice for the victims of genocide, slavery, slave trading, and racial apartheidReparations for Slavery- Press Briefing from Lambeth Palace
Archbishop of Canterbury website, 26 March 2007
The Archbishop of Canterbury points towards the need for a wider institutional sense of responsibility in acknowledging the heritage of slavery itself
Archbishop urges church to consider slavery reparations
The Guardian, 26 March 2007
Dr Rowan Williams said Anglicans needed to acknowledge that they belonged to an institution partly shaped ‘by terrible things that our forebears did’. He said the church had to ‘work at’ the question of reparations, but added that the issue was complex and it was unclear who should receive such payments
Despite the entrenchment of domestic legislation and international anti-slavery law over the centuries, recognition of the practice by the British government as an historical moral injustice perpetrated against Africans has been slow in forthcoming. Community activists and members of the diaspora have campaigned for recognition of the wrongs committed against enslaved Africans, and for governments to engage in reparatory dialogue.
Campaigners demand slavery compensation
BBC News, 23 August 2002
Campaigners for slavery reparations plan to sue the UK government to pay off African debt as an apology for its part in the long-gone trans-Atlantic slave trade
World Conference Against Racism, 2001
8 September 2001
The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South AfricaCampaigners: The Church of England’s Apology for its Role in Slavery
16 February 2006
Article critical of the Church of England’s apology for its role in slavery