The UK and former European colonial powers must apologise for chattel slavery in the Caribbean.
We call on the UK and other European governments, institutions and individuals who perpetrated and benefited from chattel slavery and its legacy to apologise for these atrocities and commit to repair.
Support this call by signing in solidarity.
Recent Signers
The Impacts of Chattel Slavery and Colonialism
Today, the legacies of chattel slavery and colonialism continue to impact the lives of Caribbean people in several ways, including:
- Severe public health crises, with the highest global rates of diabetes and hypertension
- Poor educational outcomes and high youth unemployment
- Systemic and structural racism
- High levels of national debt
- Psychological trauma
- High homicide, mortality and suicide rates
- Normalised cultures of child abuse, domestic and gender-based violence
- Limited access to and ownership of land
- Long–term damage to agricultural lands
- High poverty rates
What is ‘Reparatory Justice’?
- Reparatory Justice means repairing the damage of chattel slavery and colonialism, which built European wealth while leaving the Caribbean deliberately underdeveloped.
- Reparatory Justice goes far beyond individual monetary compensation, and addresses the moral, social, cultural and physical damage inflicted by historical injustices.
- It is not simply charity or development aid, but is focused on justice and human rights, recognising the responsibility to right historic wrongs.
- Reparatory Justice can take many forms, including apologies, debt relief, funding interventions related to the ongoing effects of chattel slavery, projects to improve underdeveloped sectors and initiatives to create fairer opportunities for future generations.
This call is guided by the CARICOM Reparations Commission’s Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice.
Why Repair Matters
The Caribbean has suffered the greatest crimes against humanity, including chattel slavery, indigenous genocide and colonial exploitation by European governments, institutions and individuals. Of the more than 12 million Africans forcibly trafficked to the Americas between 1514 and 1887, over 5.3 million were taken to the Caribbean. At Emancipation in 1834, the 15 countries now designated as CARICOM Member States held only 655,626 enslaved people on an estimated 12,475 plantations - evidence of the devastating loss of life.
Enslaved Africans in the Caribbean endured unimaginable brutality under a system designed to maximise profits. Men, women and children were considered “property” and forced into back-breaking labour on plantations. Most died by age 25 due to malnutrition, disease, overexertion, inhumane living conditions and murder. This process was so horrendous that most enslaved Africans died within 3 years of their arrival on plantations across the region. After being worked to death, Africans were simply replaced by new victims of trafficking as it was cheaper to purchase additional enslaved people than facilitate humane living conditions.
Image Source: London Museum Docklands, “London Sugar and Slavery” Exhibit
Enslaved people were regularly branded with hot irons to identify their enslavers. Heinous physical, psychological and sexual abuse were rampant.
Punishments for acts of resistance ranged from severe flogging, mutilation and amputation to being burned alive. Tortures included rubbing salt, pepper or lime into fresh wounds, suspending people above open flames, castration and being forced to ingest human waste. The cruelty was not only tolerated but codified into law in many Caribbean countries.
Image Source: Slaveryimages.org
The incalculable wealth extracted during colonialism funded the development of European economies and societies, including the Industrial Revolution. The Caribbean was by far Britain’s most valuable colony.
At emancipation, European enslavers were paid billions in today’s currency as compensation for “lost property”. Freed Africans got nothing and faced generations of hardship.
The deliberate underdevelopment of Caribbean economies extended beyond abolition into the 20th Century when most gained independence.
Why Should I Sign?
By signing in solidarity, you strengthen the Caribbean’s demand for the UK and other European governments, institutions and individuals who perpetrated and benefited from chattel slavery to:
- Apologise for chattel slavery and colonial exploitation.
- Enter meaningful dialogue with Caribbean nations about repair.
- Commit to long-term programs to uplift Caribbean communities.
Momentum is building globally. It is critical that your voice is represented amongst members of civil society who support the call for reparatory justice.
Your name and country may be included in submissions presented to key decision-makers as part of this collective demand for justice and repair.