Barbados PM rejects ‘asinine’ claim that Caribbean owes Britain
Key Points(5)
- Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has described as “asinine” a suggestion by a U.K.
- lawmaker that Britain's former colonies should repay it for its historic investment in them.
- “I cannot believe we are being asked to respond to the suggestion that the descendants of the enslaved should pay for the machinery that oppressed them,” Mottley wrote on X late Thursday.
- “The Caribbean does not owe Britain for slavery, for colonial extraction, or for laws that treated African people as chattel.
- We are not asking for charity.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has criticized as “asinine” suggestions from a United Kingdom lawmaker that former British colonies should repay Britain for its historical investments, as Caribbean leaders continue discussions on reparatory justice for slavery and colonialism.
Mottley responded after former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, now a member of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, argued that former colonies should compensate Britain for what she described as the country’s contributions to their development.
Braverman made the comments on X on July 3 in response to reports that Jamaica plans to submit a formal petition seeking reparations for slavery later this year.
“If the government is seriously thinking about this then former colonies should pay the British back for the considerable investment, effort and contribution that this country made which laid the foundations for many flourishing democracies today,” Braverman wrote.
Mottley rejected the argument, saying Caribbean nations are not seeking charity but justice for the historical impact of slavery, colonial extraction and discriminatory laws.
“I cannot believe we are being asked to respond to the suggestion that the descendants of the enslaved should pay for the machinery that oppressed them,” Mottley wrote on X.
“The Caribbean does not owe Britain for slavery, for colonial extraction, or for laws that treated African people as chattel. We are not asking for charity. We are asking for justice, and history itself has already told the truth.”
Speaking at a press conference following the four-day Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit in St. Lucia, Mottley again criticized the suggestion that Caribbean nations should repay Britain.
“I’m not sure that you want me to reply to things that really are asinine and certainly the notion that we should pay the United Kingdom for oppressing us, for enslaving us and for treating us as chattel,” she said.
Mottley highlighted the historical treatment of enslaved Africans under colonial laws, including Barbados’ 1661 Slave Code, which she said established the classification of enslaved people as property.
She also pointed to Britain’s compensation of enslavers following the abolition of slavery in 1834, noting that enslaved Africans themselves received no compensation.
“In 1834 the British Parliament did not need to be persuaded of that fact with respect to the loss of property because we were chattel and the compensation of the enslavers was 20 million pounds,” she said.
Mottley also warned that the issue should not be used as a political tool in UK domestic debates.
“Those who wish to speak on this matter should first take the time to read enough history to understand it,” she wrote. “The Caribbean will not be used as a prop for anyone’s politics.”
The comments came as CARICOM leaders met in St. Lucia to discuss regional priorities, including the pursuit of reparations for slavery and colonialism.
Jamaica is expected to formally petition Britain’s King Charles III for reparations on Sept. 6, a date Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange has described as historic.
Grange said the date marks the anniversary of the 1781 departure of the slave ship Zong from West Africa to Jamaica carrying 442 enslaved Africans. During the voyage, the ship’s captain ordered enslaved Africans to be thrown overboard in an attempt to claim insurance compensation for the loss of “cargo.”
