Barbados PM demands $4.9tn in reparations from slave-owning nations

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has claimed that the country is owed $4.9 trillion in reparations by slave-owning nations. Mottley made the statement during her lecture at the London School of Economics on Wednesday (Dec 6) while using King Charles III’s comment that the “time has come” to acknowledge the enduring impact of slavery. 

Mottley said conversations regarding how this debt should be repaid would be “difficult and will take time” but they needed to happen.   

“We’re not expecting that the reparatory damages will be paid in a year, or two, or five because the extraction of wealth and the damages took place over centuries. But we are demanding that we be seen and that we are heard,” she said on Wednesday.

A day earlier, she met newly-appointed British foreign secretary David Cameron and discussed the biltarel relations. Pressed if the reparation talk featured during the discussion, Mottley refused to divulge anything. 

“I’m not going to get into the details of our conversation but suffice to say I think the foreign secretary will take his lead from his majesty,” she said.

Ever since becoming the head of the island nation, Mottley has become one of the prominent voices, challenging the legacy of colonialism and demanding reparations for the damage done by the empire. 

Her earlier preparation estimate was around $24tn which she said the UK owes t 14 countries affected by transatlantic slavery. She added that Spain owes $17.1tn, Frace owes $2.9tn and the Netherlands owes $4.86tn. 

“These numbers, if taken out of context, can appear to be staggering. But in relation to the total wealth accumulated over a period of time, the numbers are actually minuscule,” said Mottley.

Notably, last year, during his trip to Rwanda, King Charles III shared his “sorrow” for the suffering caused by slavery but stopped short of apology for the royal family’s historic involvement in the practice. 

At the peak of their powers, successive British monarchs as well as royals from other nations participated in the trade, either facilitating it or making money from it. 

Although Motley’s estimates may seem outrageous but when factored the GDP amassed by the countries that enslaved the African people, it suddenly makes sense.

(With inputs from agencies)