The British are ready to say sorry – but refuse to pay the price

Britain signals a willingness to apologize for its role in the slave trade, but refuses to pay reparations. Ahead of the Commonwealth summit, the historical debate is reawakening – along with a surprising bill that was only settled in 2015.

Britain signals a willingness to apologize for its role in the slave trade, but refuses to pay reparations. This emerges from an article by Andy Burnham in The Guardian, ahead of the Commonwealth summit. Burnham described the slave trade as a 'brutal and barbaric violation' and made clear that Britain must 'look the past in the eye', but opposed reparations, arguing that today's British citizens should not be held responsible for historical wrongs. The article notes that from the 16th century onward, English authorities and the monarchy were prominent participants in the slave trade. Britain played a key role in abolishing the trade with the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, but the act stipulated that plantation owners would be compensated for the loss of the people they enslaved. Britain finished paying off the enormous debt it took on to fund these compensations only in 2015.