Adding to the Reparations discussion

by Roslyn A Douglas, MA

During my trip to London in December of 2022, I made it a point to visit the Bank of England’s exhibit that featured Grenada, entitled Slavery & the Bank.

Within this circular 10-foot radius display was a map of my island in a glass case. Above my head, written on a black background in white letters, were a fraction of the given names of enslaved people brought to the island. The exhibit’s premise was to explain how plantation owners of the Bacolet and Chemin estates were handsomely paid after the abolishment of slavery.

At a certain point, the plantation owners became bankrupt, and the Bank of England and some of its officials took over its ownership of the property and the slaves. The featured owners’ names on the exhibit were Alexander and Sons. In addition, the display contained a copy of an inventory log listing the gender, age, and value of those ripped from the African continent and brought to Grenada. Five hundred and ninety-nine (599) slaves were used on those specific plantations.

Regarding the discussion of reparations, Grenadians need to be aware that after the abolishment of slavery, the plantation owners received financial compensation. The total remuneration to all plantation owners was astronomical. According to the exhibit’s informational pamphlet, “The payments totalled £20 million, which is over £1 billion in today’s money. The payment of compensation was managed by the Bank of England on behalf of the British Government.”

The enslaved received nothing.

The experience, as a free Grenadian, of standing in the middle of that circular exhibit and reading these details was overwhelming. The bank provided a box for visitors to write their reaction to the exhibit with typed words, “The exhibit made me feel….” I wrote, “…it is appalling that the enslavers continued to gain generational wealth. Reparations for the Caribbean!”

How can we as a nation even begin calculating the generational damage and disrespect of not only the act of slavery, let alone not benefitting from the enormous payouts?

Is the Bank of England’s admission through a tiny exhibit a sufficient start?

Is it enough to use any received reparation for research when our hospital, agriculture, national security strategies, road infrastructure, and national debt need attention?

If Caricom nations came together to demand reparations from one entity, what would the fallout look like? Would we be punished in new ways?

Clearly, more discussion is needed.