After centuries of the slave trade... Jamaica demands reparations from Britain worth up to $9 trillion - Sarmad

Jamaica plans to submit a petition to King Charles III today, Monday, urging him to refer questions related to slavery and the United Kingdom’s responsibility to pay compensation to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

The move is based on legal traditions dating back to the early days of the British Empire, with the Privy Council serving as the highest court for former British colonies that still maintain ties to the British legal system.

Although the petition is formally addressed to the King, Charles III will not personally decide whether it should be referred to the Judicial Committee; rather, he will act on the advice of the British government.

The appeal to the King comes as recent research has highlighted the British Crown’s historical ties to slavery. According to the Guardian, a book by American historian Brooke Newman revealed that the Crown owned thousands of enslaved people until 1831, and that the Royal Navy contributed for long periods to protecting and expanding the slave trade.

A 2023 report covered by the Guardian estimated that Britain’s liability for compensation to 14 countries for its involvement in the transatlantic slave trade could amount to approximately $24 trillion, with Jamaica’s share estimated at around $9.6 trillion.

The Zong Slave Ship Anniversary

The submission of the petition coincides with the anniversary of the departure of the Zong, a Liverpool-registered ship, from West Africa in 1781, carrying 442 enslaved Africans bound for Jamaica.

After running low on water supplies during the voyage, the ship’s crew threw 132 men, women, and children overboard, believing that claiming insurance compensation for the lost “property” would be more profitable than selling the weakened and dehydrated captives at low prices.

Through this step, Jamaica seeks to move its claim for compensation from Britain for the atrocities caused by the transatlantic slave trade onto a new legal and political track.