Jamaica Petitions King Charles on 3 Slavery Reparations Questions as Britain Paid £20 Million to Slave Owners
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Sep 6
Jamaica Petitions King Charles on 3 Slavery Reparations Questions as Britain Paid £20 Million to Slave Owners
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Sep 6
Summary
Monday’s petition asks King Charles to refer three legal questions to the Privy Council on whether slavery in Jamaica was lawful under English law, breached international law and now creates a British duty to provide redress.
Olivia Grange said the filing is not a payment demand but a bid to secure legal answers that could shape later reparations steps; the petition will go to the JCPC registrar, and the King has no personal discretion over a referral.
Grange tied the case to Britain’s 1833 abolition settlement, when London paid £20 million to slave owners and serviced the related debt until 2015, arguing that history strengthens Jamaica’s claim for remedy.
The visit also includes talks with the British Museum on returning colonial-era Jamaican artefacts, widening the mission from legal accountability to cultural repatriation.
Buckingham Palace said Charles supports greater understanding of slavery and addressing historic wrongs, a sharper opening than Britain’s 2015 stance when Prime Minister David Cameron ruled out reparations.