King Charles has been greeted with joyous music, smiling dancers and a shot of rum on a journey through the Caribbean that looks like an endless celebration.
asserted
that → greet → celebration
But every stop takes the King closer to a meeting in Antigua where he will have to navigate the grim history of slavery in his talks with Commonwealth leaders from former British colonies.
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he → take → colonies
Charles has expressed sorrow about slavery, but has stopped short of a formal apology, given that he is guided by British policy that rules out paying reparations for the damage done over centuries.
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that → express → centuries
At this meeting, however, several leaders from the Commonwealth appear determined to force a debate about a response from Britain over its imperial past.
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leaders → appear → past
And the response, they say, is not only about money.
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they → say → money
They want an apology.
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They → want → apology
“What benefit do we have from this man coming to our country?” asked Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, the chair of the Bahamas National Reparations Committee, after the King flew out of the island nation a few days ago.
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King → have → nation
“We know what we are giving, but what are we getting, you know?
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you → know → what
And if all that we’re getting is an opportunity to smile and wave and say hello, I think for a lot of Bahamians that just wasn’t worth it.”
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that → get → Bahamians
One seasoned observer, Alan Lester, professor of historical geography at the University of Sussex, believes this sets up an opportunity for a unified statement and an apology that helps Britain build better relations with the Commonwealth.
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Britain → believe → Commonwealth
Without an agreement, however, it could merely lead to more acrimony.
uncertain
it → lead → acrimony
The King began his Caribbean tour on Tuesday in the Bahamas, where he displayed some dance moves in a parade, and then visited Guyana, where he tasted the local rum.
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he → begin → rum
He arrives in Antigua on Sunday for events that include a cricket match among famous West Indies champions and several Commonwealth leaders.
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that → arrive → champions
The argument about slavery will shape the agenda after a formal event on Wednesday to open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, or CHOGM.
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argument → shape → Meeting
Of course, the King has proven his skill at delicate diplomacy in the past, not least in handling Donald Trump during two state visits – the American president’s trip to London last year and the King’s visit to Washington DC this year.
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King → prove → DC
On both occasions, the King made pointed remarks about liberty, climate change and Ukraine with no display of tension with Trump.
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King → make → Trump
The talks on slavery could be more difficult because the King may be outnumbered.
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King → outnumber → slavery
Caricom, which represents 15 states and several territories around the Caribbean, is calling for significant action on slavery because of the evidence that European nations enslaved Africans, shipped them across the Atlantic, stripped them of their humanity and set up the financial systems to treat them as chattels.
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nations → represent → chattels
The Caribbean manifesto, issued in June, notes that Britain paid compensation to slave owners when it abolished slavery, but did not compensate those who had been enslaved.
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who → issue → those
Setting out a 10-point plan for justice, the group seeks a formal apology, a development program for Indigenous people, repatriation for descendants of slaves who might seek to return to Africa, the restitution of cultural heritage, help to remedy a crisis in public health and help with education and training.
uncertain
who → set → education
A key goal is compensation for gender-based violence, given estimates that 6 million African women were transported across the Atlantic as slaves, almost one-third of the 20 million who were forcibly removed.
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who → base → million
Caricom also seeks support with psychological rehabilitation and sovereignty over technology development.
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Caricom → seek → development
“The crimes against humanity committed against African people by enslaving nations have left an enduring legacy of psychological trauma, financial dependency and socioeconomic disparities,” it says.
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it → commit → trauma
The Caribbean nations do not name the amount due in reparations.
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nations → name → reparations
But they note reports that estimate “Britain’s black debt” ranges from £7.5 trillion to as much as £18 trillion.
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estimate → note → trillion
Given that Britain’s annual economic output is just over £3 trillion, and its net public debt is climbing toward 100 per cent of annual GDP, the full bill for slavery looks unpayable.
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bill → give → slavery
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham rejects it completely.
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Burnham → reject → it
“I am clear we do not and will not pay reparations,” his spokesman told the media last Tuesday.
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spokesman → do → media
Some academics have dismissed the case for reparations based on history.
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academics → dismiss → history
Nigel Biggar, a professor emeritus of moral theology at Oxford University, has argued that the demands ignore Britain’s achievement in abolishing slavery.
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demands → argue → slavery
“Black Africans had been busy enslaving other Africans and selling them to the Romans and then to the Arabs long before Europeans arrived on the scene,” Biggar wrote last year.
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Biggar → enslave → scene
He cited estimates that the Arab slave trade as a whole, which lasted from the seventh century until well into the 20th century, transported about 17 million slaves, most of them African.
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most → cite → them
Pacific leaders have also engaged on the issue because of the “blackbirding” of islanders to work on sugar cane and other farms in Australia and other colonies.
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leaders → engage → Australia
Former prime minister Scott Morrison sparked a storm in 2020 by saying Australia had no history of slavery, with some historians arguing that colonial businessmen such as Ben Boyd shipped slaves from Melanesia to Australia in the 1800s.
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businessmen → spark → 1800s
More than 62,000 people were transported from the Pacific Islands to Australia over four decades, including “blackbirds” who had been kidnapped.
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who → transport → blackbirds
King Charles, as the head of the Commonwealth, has to face this debate in Antigua given that so many leaders want it addressed.
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it → have → Antigua
There is a clear majority behind a statement on slavery, given the way the debate turned out at the last CHOGM, in Samoa in 2024.
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debate → be → 2024
The final statement from leaders in Samoa called for talks on “reparatory justice” on slavery and mentioned “blackbirding” – a first for a CHOGM communique.
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statement → call → communique
Lester says he can understand why Burnham strongly rejects reparations.
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Burnham → say → reparations
“The word ‘reparations’ has become an electoral landmine thanks to the weaponisation of the idea that it involves British taxpayers putting their hands in their pockets for distant strangers who may, or may not, need the money,” says the University of Sussex professor.
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professor → become → Sussex
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
