Recent market research¹ commissioned by The Repair Campaign in March 2025 shows a gap in public knowledge amongst Caribbean nationals about the history of chattel slavery, the role of the UK and the need for reparations.

Awareness of Caribbean History

Only 33% of respondents across Jamaica and Barbados said they were knowledgeable about the history of the UK’s role in chattel slavery. This is significantly lower than the 56% of UK-based respondents who said they were knowledgeable about the UK’s role in this history when asked the same question through a poll commissioned by The Repair Campaign one month prior. 

Only 41% of Jamaican and Barbadian respondents report having learned about the history of chattel slavery in primary school while only 35% recall learning about it in secondary school. 

78% of respondents did not know the UK borrowed the modern-day equivalent of £2.1 bn to compensate former enslavers for their loss of “property” at emancipation, compared to 75% of UK-based respondents who also did not know this fact. 

89% of respondents agree that more education about this history is needed within Caribbean schools to address this lack of awareness. 

Awareness of Reparations 

Further as it relates to the calls for repair, 59% of respondents were not aware of any present-day movement for reparations. 

When presented with information about the movement, only 32% said they would be willing to sign in solidarity to support the reparations movement, while 45% said they were unsure and would need more information, highlighting the need for more effective education and awareness-raising initiatives. 

66% of all respondents said more information on how reparations would be used to benefit the Caribbean would make it more likely for others to support the movement, and 54% said a plan for how reparations would be managed would strengthen solidarity. 

These statistics highlight the need for deeper education on the history of chattel slavery and greater public awareness-raising efforts about the movement for reparatory justice. 

End notes

1. The research was conducted by Coyne Research in March 2025 and included a representative sample of 1,211 Jamaicans and Barbadians across 65 in-person sampling points across both countries. Quotas were put in place in Jamaica and Barbados to ensure nationally representative samples of gender, age and region were achieved.