Gladstone family urged to pay slavery reparations to Jamaica

The descendants of erstwhile Prime Minister William Gladstone are facing calls to wage reparations to Jamaica for an ancestor's relation successful slavery.

The Gladstone household apologised for its slaveholding past successful Guyana and pledged to money probe into slavery and different projects astatine a ceremonial connected Friday.

But the household has been accused of failing to admit the lawsuit for paying slavery reparations successful Jamaica.

The household told the BBC: "At the infinitesimal we are solely focused connected Guyana."

"There is simply a immense magnitude to bash present [in Guyana]," the Gladstones said.

John Gladstone - the begetter of William Gladstone, 1 of the UK's astir revered premier ministers - was 1 of the largest enslaved owners successful the British West Indies.

The University of London's (UCL) Legacies of British Slavery database shows John Gladstone owned oregon held mortgages implicit 2,508 enslaved Africans successful Guyana and Jamaica successful the 19th Century.

He was paid much than £100,000 successful compensation aft the British Parliament passed a instrumentality to abolish the enslaved commercialized successful 1833, receiving £15,052 for 806 enslaved radical successful Jamaica.

Reading the family's apology to Guyana, Charlie Gladstone, the great-great-grandson of William Gladstone, condemned slavery arsenic "a transgression against humanity" and acknowledged "slavery's continuing interaction connected the regular lives of many".

He said the household supported a 10-point reparations program projected by Caribbean nations.

But determination was nary notation of John Gladstone's enslaved ownership successful Jamaica astatine the ceremonial successful Guyana connected Friday, nor successful the family's connection announcing their volition to apologise and marque donations past week.

John Gladstone owned "significant properties" successful Jamaica, said Verene Shepherd, manager of the Centre for Reparation Research astatine the University of the West Indies.

She said the Gladstone household "must travel to the country of the transgression and apologise to the radical who unrecorded successful those neighbourhoods".

The Jamaican world and prof of societal past urged the Gladstone household to "commit to reparations, arsenic they're doing successful Guyana".

Reparations are broadly recognised arsenic compensation fixed for thing that was deemed incorrect oregon unfair, and tin instrumentality galore forms.

Last week, the Gladstones said they would purpose to donate £100,000 to the University of Guyana's International Institute for Migration and Diaspora Studies, which was launched connected Friday.

In Guyana, the household besides pledged backing "to assistance assorted projects successful Guyana" and UCL's Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery for 5 years.

Prof Shepherd said: "Now that we realise that we've been ignored, I deliberation Jamaica should marque an approach."

The BBC has been told that Jamaica's National Council connected Reparations is discussing the Gladstone lawsuit and considering what enactment to take.

The assembly has not had immoderate interaction with the Gladstone household to date.

John Gladstone was a Scottish merchant who made a luck from his ownership of sweetener plantations and enslaved workers successful the decennary earlier abolition.

His salient engagement successful the manufacture shaped the governmental vocation and bequest of his son, William Gladstone, whose cognition towards slavery changed implicit his life.

In his archetypal code to Parliament, the Liberal premier curate defended the rights of plantation owners, but aboriginal branded slavery the "foulest crime" successful history.

The Gladstones are the latest British descendants of enslaved owners to effort to atone for the actions of their ancestors successful caller years.

The family's historical nexus to slavery came into sharper absorption during the Black Lives Matter protests successful 2020.

Since then, immoderate members of the household person joined the Heirs of Slavery, a radical of British radical whose families profited from the transatlantic enslaved commercialized and privation to marque amends.

Other members see erstwhile BBC writer Laura Trevelyan and her family, who apologised to Grenada and promised £100,000 successful reparations successful February this year.

In an interrogation with the BBC earlier this week, United Nations Judge Patrick Robinson said helium had "some scepticism astir these families".

He said the reparations paid should beryllium based connected the fig of slaves John Gladstone owned and the grade to which the household benefited from this economically.

He said helium would beryllium consenting to inquire for a calculation from the Brattle Group, an economical consulting steadfast that produced a report connected the reparations states beryllium for their engagement successful slavery.

"If it's not to beryllium seen arsenic a tokenistic exercise, if it is to beryllium taken seriously, they indispensable ascertain the reparations that are owed," Mr Robinson said.

The Brattle Group Report, which was co-authored by Mr Robinson, said the UK should wage $24tn (£18.8tn) for its slavery engagement successful 14 countries.

The Gladstones should undertake a akin calculation to "demonstrate however overmuch is truly owed", said Robert Beckford, prof of clime and societal justness astatine the University of Winchester.

The prof said that alternatively than giving wealth to a assemblage for further research, helium would person "preferred them to speech to assemblage organisers oregon reparations groups, to research what is the champion mode forward".

Although helium welcomed the Gladstone apology successful Guyana, helium said the nonaccomplishment to admit Jamaica hinted astatine "an unwillingness to look up to the afloat brutal, bestial fearfulness of chattel slavery" successful the country.