Today, August 1st, marks Emancipation Day, the end of slavery across the British Empire in 1834.
It is estimated 12.5 million people were transported from Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean between the 16th and 19th centuries, of which, Britain is estimated to have transported 3.1 million people.
On August 1, 1834, the British Empire formally abolished slavery in the British colonies. However, in practice, the British Empire did not free the 750,000 enslaved Africans in the Caribbean until August 1, 1838.
The government decided to pay each slave owner for their slave losses. The modern equivalent of £17bn was paid out to compensate slave owners for the loss of their human property, and it wasn’t until 2015 that British citizens, including descendants of enslaved Africans, finished paying the debt.
This means if you were paying taxes before 2015, your taxes would have contributed to this pay-off to slave owners.
No reparations have ever been paid to the enslaved people or their descendants.
We must celebrate Emancipation Day. We must ensure history is never forgotten.
I’ve collated some Black British history resources to add the much-needed context on Britain’s role in the slave trade and why we need to have much more considered discussion on reparations.
Educational Resources
Blog recommendation
An Infinity of Trace Blog - a historical memory of Europe’s relationship with Africa and the islands of the Caribbean since the advent of the Atlantic slave trade.
Two book recommendations
Staying Power, a detailed history of Black people in Britain by Peter Fryer
Black and British: A forgotten history, a by book by David Olusoga
Documentary series recommendation
Britain's forgotten slave owners by David Olusoga, available on BBC iPlayer.
