The Black Atlantic's quest for reparations

The geopolitical environment is arguably not conducive to pursuing reparations for slavery and colonialism. But Africa and its diaspora in the Americas, the Caribbean and Europe continue to make headway, with a focus on seeking financial compensation and ending racial discrimination

- Adekeye Adebajo

VESTIGES OF THE SLAVE TRADE: Black people continue to suffer gross inequalities wherever they are found in the Diaspora.

(Photo: Engraving by Joseph Swain, circa 1835)

he transatlantic slave trade remains one of the most horrific crimes in human history. Between 1450 and 1888, European imperial powers (Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark) transported 12-15 million enslaved Africans across the Atlantic.

This coerced labour force was instrumental to the West's industrialisation, which was sustained by Europe’s colonial plunder of Africa’s natural resources.

Perversely, when slavery was abolished, Western governments compensated slave owners and their descendants, rather than the enslaved and their heirs. In 1833, the British government agreed to pay £20 million ($26 million) - around 40% of its annual expenditure at the time and equivalent to some £3 billion today - to 46,000 slave owners. The debt that financed this compensation package was finally paid off in 2015.

Africa and its diaspora in the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe - referred to as the Black Atlantic - have long sought redress for the lasting harms caused by slavery. In 1993, the Organisation of African Unity issued the Abuja Proclamation, which called for reparations for African enslavement and colonisation. In 2014, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) released its Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice. And in 2023, the African Union published the Accra Proclamation on Reparations, which reflects a “shared commitment to addressing historical injustices and injurious crimes.”