Jamaica may seek reparations from Britain to fund its heritage sector, the Telegraph can reveal.
The Caribbean nation, which was under British rule until 1962, is mulling plans to persuade the UK government and major museums to fund exhibitions focussed on British colonialism.
Reparation payments of around £500,000, sought for the centuries of slavery suffered, would go to conserving ports, hospitals and courthouses tied to imperial rule.
The plans come after the Telegraph revealed that Edmund Bartlett, the Jamaican Minister for Tourism, hopes to preserve Georgian sites, including the homes of slave owners, as potential centres of “dark tourism”.
Mr Bartlett told the Telegraph: “We are interested in what is called Dark Tourism.
“The built heritage is very, very important, because it tells a story in stone and sticks and mortar.
“Jamaica, being a confluence of so many cultures and peoples, has a story that you need to connect with, because a little piece of [the British] is really here, a piece of your history, your past.”
Tharp House is currently undergoing renovation
Credit: Sukimac Photography
The Telegraph revealed in September that Caribbean Community (Caricom) nations were poised to formally seek payment from British institutions including the Church of England and the Royal Family.
Jonathan Greenland, Director of the National Museum Jamaica, told the Telegraph: “There is a debate around reparations, but this is how reparations should be paid.
“The government, or museums, could pay into a fund which supports museums and heritage sites in Jamaica. It is not just Jamaican history, it is British history.”
Fort Charles at Port Royal may be one of the sites preserved
Credit: Atlantide Phototravel
The British-born Mr Greenland, who has worked in Jamaica for 19 years, is currently working on a project to create a museum in the one-time capital and den of piracy, Port Royal.
He has suggested that the former British naval base, home to a decaying Naval Hospital, could receive state backing from the Department of Digital Culture Media and Sport, or direct funding from relevant institutions like the National Maritime Museum.
The Old Naval Cemetery could also benefit from funding, as well as the Morant Bay courthouse, which was central to a 1865 rebellion brutally put down by the British governor.
The harbour at the one-time capital and den of piracy, Port Royal
Credit: Chronicle / Alamy Stock Photo
Mr Greenland said these projects would educate Jamaicans on British rule, along with visiting UK tourists.
He said: “We go to all sorts of lengths to preserve our history in the UK, incredible stuff… English Heritage, the National Trust, amazing things. Then our history abroad, a little less so.
“The UK is the leading force in the development of museums and heritage, it could be our new export in a sense. That expertise and interest and ability to develop sustainable museums could be marketed all around the world.”