Jamaica is intensifying its campaign for £7.6 billion in slavery reparations, engaging with King Charles and UK officials. A government delegation recently arrived in London carrying a petition for Buckingham Palace.
The Jamaican government hopes that responses to the petition and discussions with the Foreign Office will advance its pursuit of a significant financial payout from UK taxpayers. The lobbying effort highlights the historical context of 1833, when Britain, after abolishing slavery, compensated slave owners rather than the enslaved.
Jamaican Culture Minister Olivia Grange stated upon arrival that "Up to 2015, Britain was paying the slave masters because we were considered property." While acknowledging potential objections from some UK taxpayers, Grange suggested that the majority "may consider answers are required."
Historically, the £20 million paid to slave owners at the time of abolition represented approximately 40 percent of the British Treasury's annual income. Britain incurred a substantial loan to cover this cost, which was not fully repaid until 2015.
This push for reparations follows a recent Daily Mail poll where 99 percent of over 3,000 readers voted in favor of scrapping an early release scheme for prisoners amid concerns about rising violent crime.