If the UK has to pay reparations, will other countries?

Because they know they won't be getting billions from any African countries.

So, basically some people believe the UK taxpayers should give billions to a load of corrupt officials, many of whom are already filthy rich - often having only acquired that wealth after taking office, whilst the citizens that voted them in have in many cases become poorer on a whole.

Yeah, fuck that!

Wow they have some very rich politicians. Certainly make UK politicians look like paupers

Yes, thats it.

I don't think people should or would pay for something they had no responsibility for, and however would you decide who should contribute and who shouldn't?

It may be just as valid to ask who'd be getting anything which was paid

Unlike aid, much of which goes to companies/agencies tasked with delivering improvements, I get the impression CARICOM want these "reparations" paid directly to the local governments concerned - and good luck then to the populations who might hope to see something for it, given the issues with corruption in public life

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/mar/04/trouble-in-paradise-corruption-in-the-caribbean-has-become-normalised

Thankyou 😉 just had a look at Caricom. So that sort of explains why it’s the UK that’s being asked for reparations ? It ´s mainly old uk colonies ?

@MrsFishers the current demands are coming from CARICOM which is a group of fifteen Caribbean governments. They are asking for £205 billion as well as an apology and repatriation pathways (no idea how that will land with the African countries in question or how they'd determine where anyone wanting to return to Africa would be repatriated to).

I’ve not read up on this or the thread so sorry for my question , who would the reparations actually be going to? The descendants of slaves? Or the countries they were stolen from?

Oh absolutely; it's always better when the good guys get in first on the plundering and pillaging.

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

In terms of reparations specifically, I am wondering why the countries calling for reparations are only asking for reparations from European countries and not the African countries who were also involved in the Atlantic slave trade?

Another factor is if the UK hadn't colonised the countries it did, they would have been colonised by the Dutch, Belgians, Portuguese or Spanish

Oh absolutely; it's always better when the good guys get in first on the plundering and pillaging.

Pet?
@Danajune11 … your passive aggression is showing, you might want to tuck it in.

Another factor is if the UK hadn't colonised the countries it did, they would have been colonised by the Dutch, Belgians, Portuguese or Spanish. Some of Britain's colonies were won off them. it's not like the areas in question would have been left in peace.

So the land was given back by the British peacefully after realising the error of their ways and ending slavery or did it have to be fought for by the natives in the same way Ireland had to?

Varied by country really. You could probably look at wiki for independence of each former colony.
The protectorate I grew up in had an entirely peaceful handover.

Yes, there isn't a British Empire any longer and the countries all have independence, unless you meant something else

So the land was given back by the British peacefully after realising the error of their ways and ending slavery or did it have to be fought for by the natives in the same way Ireland had to?

I know that land was not returned to the Irish but did the UK return land to other countries?

Yes, there isn't a British Empire any longer and the countries all have independence, unless you meant something else.

But then how would we know when HRH has snuffed it?

one would hope you can see what a silly argument it is

I was responding to the notion that former colonies should prove how they are still affected by colonisation before they are worthy of reparations.

As for the "but we ended slavery", the UK also benefitted from it.

A genuine question that I don't know the answer to - once slavery was ended, what happened the slaves? Were they offered repatriation? Where land was seized from locals, was it returned?
I know that land was not returned to the Irish but did the UK return land to other countries?

I'm disappointed that no one is getting on board with the idea of giving back the Sebastopol Bells.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastopol_Bell,_Windsor

The people that were there wanted to be left alone and to develop, themselves.

It wasn't just the Brits at it though - there were African tribes that were likewise violenty expanding and colonising at roughly the same time, eg the Lifeqane. UK involvement in that case was protective to some of the affected tribes, although arguably the Portuguese played a role in kicking it all off.

We didn't ask to though

It was decided by the powers that be

Have the prisoners transported to Botany Bay for minor offences ever received any recompense

Quite a flippant remark about genocide

Yes going back to talk about Governments, i think that later governments should apologise, especially as countries are still suffering today.

Well, it's good to know that we shouldn't feel obliged to save anyone. I wouldn't want to develop a saviour complex.

Britain was the first in history to end slavery (an unprecedented and contested step at the time, and in an era where slavery was normative). Without which, those enslaved would probably have been slaves either way, and would potentially still be slaves, or have been so until a much later date and without everything Britain has contributed/paid since in ending slavery.