King Charles to confront slavery apology and reparations demands at Commonwealth summit

The King arrives in Antigua on Sunday after a tour that began on Tuesday in the Bahamas and took in Guyana, where a rum was created in his honour. The formal opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) follows on Wednesday, and the slavery question is expected to shape the agenda.

“What benefit do we have from this man coming to our country?” asked Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, chair of the Bahamas National Reparations Committee, after the King left the island nation. “We know what we are giving, but what are we getting, you know? 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.”

Caricom, which represents 15 states and several territories, has set out a 10-point plan. Its Caribbean manifesto, issued in June, seeks a formal apology, a development program for Indigenous people, repatriation for descendants of slaves who wish to return to Africa, restitution of cultural heritage, help with public health, education and training, compensation for gender-based violence, psychological rehabilitation and sovereignty over technology development. The final point is debt cancellation, monetary compensation and decolonisation. “The crimes against humanity committed against African people by enslaving nations have left an enduring legacy of psychological trauma, financial dependency and socioeconomic disparities,” the manifesto says.

The claim is directed at all European empires, not just Britain. Caricom cites reports estimating "Britain's black debt" at £7.5 trillion to £18 trillion, roughly $14 trillion to $34 trillion, against British annual economic output of just over £3 trillion, and notes estimates that 6 million African women, almost one-third of the 20 million people forcibly removed, were transported across the Atlantic.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham rejects the case completely. "I am clear we do not and will not pay reparations," his spokesman told the media.

Academics are divided. Alan Lester, professor of historical geography at the University of Sussex, sees an opportunity for a unified statement and an apology that helps Britain build better relations with the Commonwealth, though he understands why Burnham rejects 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." He hopes Britain will negotiate debt relief, financial reform and climate adaptation assistance "even if they are not defined as paying reparations."

Nigel Biggar, professor emeritus of moral theology at Oxford University, has dismissed the case, arguing the demands ignore Britain's achievement in abolishing 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," he wrote last year.

The debate also extends to the Pacific, where leaders have engaged over the "blackbirding" of islanders to work on sugar cane and other farms in Australia. More than 62,000 people were transported from the Pacific Islands to Australia over four decades, including "blackbirds" who had been kidnapped. Former prime minister Scott Morrison sparked a storm in 2020 by saying Australia had no history of slavery.

At the last CHOGM, in Samoa in 2024, the leaders' final statement called for talks on "reparatory justice" and mentioned "blackbirding" for the first time. Charles told that meeting: "Our cohesion requires that we acknowledge where we have come from." He added: "I understand, from listening to people across the Commonwealth, how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate." The King has expressed sorrow about slavery but stopped short of a formal apology, guided by British policy that rules out paying reparations; he cannot negotiate the outcome and must simply navigate the divisions.