Jamaica to bring slavery reparations petition to King Charles
The Jamaican government is set to present a petition to King Charles on Monday seeking legal clarification on Britain’s historic role in the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica and the question of reparations.
Culture Minister Olivia Grange said the petition will ask the King, Jamaica’s head of state, to refer three key questions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC), the country’s highest court.
The questions seek to establish whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was lawful under English law at the time, whether it violated international law, and whether Britain now has a legal obligation to provide redress.
Grange said obtaining answers to those questions could help open the way to what she described as a long-overdue settlement for the generations of Africans who suffered under slavery.
She stressed that the petition is not itself a demand for financial compensation. Instead, it seeks a legal determination that could guide Jamaica’s next steps.
“Once we get the answers, or once we get a response to those questions, then the next steps will be determined,” Grange said.
King Charles does not have personal discretion over whether the petition should be referred to the JCPC.
Buckingham Palace has been working with Jamaica’s Governor General to ensure the petition is properly submitted.
A Palace spokesperson said the King has repeatedly expressed his commitment to encouraging greater understanding of slavery and exploring ways to address historical injustices that continue to affect communities today.
The issue of reparations remains contentious. When slavery was abolished across most of the British Empire in 1833, the British government paid £20 million in compensation to slave owners. The loans used to finance those payments were not fully cleared until 2015.
Grange questioned why descendants of enslaved Africans should not also pursue redress, noting that Britain continued making payments to slave owners long after slavery had been abolished.
“Up to 2015, Britain was paying the slave masters, because we were being considered property,” she said.
She added that Jamaica’s position was that if compensation was once provided to slave owners for the loss of what was treated as property, there should also be consideration of remedies for the people who were subjected to slavery.
Beyond reparations, Grange is also expected to meet officials from the British Museum to push forward discussions over the return of Jamaican artefacts taken during the colonial period.
She described the objects as priceless and important to Jamaica’s history, saying the government wants to see them returned home.
The reparations debate has been raised repeatedly over the years. In 2015, then-British Prime Minister David Cameron rejected calls for reparations for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade during a visit to Jamaica, describing slavery as abhorrent while urging both countries to move beyond the painful legacy and focus on the future.
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