African and Caribbean nations agree move to seek reparations for slavery, call for formal apologies from European nations
African and Caribbean nations agree move to seek reparations for slavery, call for formal apologies from European nations
African Union and Caricom members establish global reparations fund and call for formal apologies from European nations
The partnership between the 55-member African Union and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) of 20 countries will aim to intensify pressure on former slave-owning nations to engage with the reparations movement.
Delegates also announced the establishment of a global fund based in Africa aiming to accelerate the campaign.
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Formal apologies are in order, if desired, but reparations for slavery? At least make it for late 19th/early-mid 20th century colonial exploitation. That has a much more direct line both to extant European governments and to Africa's current woes.
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It also doesn't take into consideration that, as far as I know, US-bound slaves were bought in west Africa, meaning that locals were responsible for capturing and selling their neighbors as slaves, and thus profited from slave trade themselves.
It's almost as if the issue isn't enitirely black and white.
Some could say it is a grey matter
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Just in case you're not alone:
The first major government in world history to outright ban slavery was the British Empire who bought all their slaves' freedoms. The Royal Navy spent most of its resources in 1800s hunting down slave ships, freeing their "cargo" and executing the slave traders. The debts incurred to pay for all this were so huge they were still being paid off into the 1990s. The biggest promoter and profiter of the slave trade at the time was the royalty of Lagos who were the ones responsible for kidnapping their people and selling them as property. The UK successfully convinced other European powers to join it in ending the millennia-old slave industry.
There a lot of my country's history I'm not proud of - including taking advantage of slavery - but I'll be fucking damned if anyone is going to tell me that my country's biggest role in the slave trade was anything other than ending it.
Didn't know much on the UK post slave ban. Gives me some hope we'll turn a 180 again somehow with our current problems
Let's say you're a member of village A, close to village B who you are competing with for resources. Tensions rise, conflict occurs and your village happens to win. Women, children, and a couple of men from village B are at your mercy. Will you:
- cull them and take their remaining resources
- take in these people who resent you and spend the little resources you have to feed and shelter them
- sell them to your nearest slave trader AND take their remaining resources.
Remember, the outcome of this choice affects the lives of your friends and family you have known for your entire life.
I also feel like this blunts how it probably actually went down.
I have a feeling it was more like: a ship arrives at village A.
The ship offers salt and beads for trade.
The chief wants to be adorned in beads and tastier food so he sells off the members of his tribe he likes least.
Over time, he runs out of extra people to sell for beads and salt so he sends his people to start enslaving neighboring tribes.
Formal apologies are in order, if desired, but reparations for slavery?
If you look to the UK, just as an example, not to pick on anyone in particular, there are a lot of individuals and families who still are unbelievably wealthy because their ancestors amassed incredible wealth either from slave trade or from endeavours relying on massive slave labour in the carribians. That money is still here, and it still allows the ancestors of slavers to live like little kings.
One prominent people this applies to is the new foreign secretary, David Cameron.
If you want to learn more, there is an article on the topic, and a public database of estates who have profitted from slavery.