History of slavery raised as King visits Caribbean

Charles III is on a tour of the Caribbean right now, his first as King.

The nine-day visit began in the Bahamas, a country made up of 700 islands, and also includes visits to Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda.

The tour will end at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda.

So far the trip has seen the King visit youth groups, attend conservation projects, and take part in commemorations for members of the armed forces who've died.

While crowds have cheered his visits, there have also been some protests about the history of slavery in the region, the UK's role in it and calls for financial compensation - or reparations - to be paid to the descendants of those affected.

And it's one of the issues expected to be raised at the CHOGM too.

As King Charles began his tour he made a speech acknowledging slavery and the "suffering and injustices" of the past.

"It is only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering and injustice of the past in these islands and beyond," he said.

Ahead of the tour, Buckingham Palace had said that in line with the UK government position, the King would not apologise for Britain's role in the slave trade or offer reparations.

Instead, it said that opportunities to reflect on the legacy of the slave trade will be built into the schedule with visits planned to memorials and other places of remembrance.

The transatlantic slave trade was a period of history where millions of Africans were bought and sold across the Atlantic Ocean, and forced to work in the Caribbean, North, Central and South America.

Enslaved people had no rights, were treated very badly, and were kept in terrible conditions. Families were separated and many people died on the journeys overseas because the conditions on board the ships were so bad.

Many European countries - including Britain - made a lot of money from the slave trade.

The UK abolished slavery in 1807 and by 1838 all slaves traded by the British Empire were freed.

You can read more about this period here.

For many years there have been calls from some groups and leaders for reparations for countries impacted by slavery.

These claims have included financial compensation, a full apology, guarantees it won't happen again and full disclosure of facts.

People that support this position say that countries that made huge amounts of money from slavery, including Britain, should apologise and give it back.

As slavery helped the UK become a world power, it's claimed that some wealth should be given to the descendants of slaves and to countries where the slaves came from originally.

It's also been argued that views and attitudes from the time of slavery still have an impact on the present, holding back the descendants of slaves, and so money should be given to address this problem.

Those who oppose reparation claims argue that it would cost governments trillions and, as government money comes from taxation, it is unfair to ask people living today to pay for something that happened long before they were born - and wasn't illegal at the time.

It's also been argued that giving money in the form of reparations doesn't really address the problem of racial inequality, and that the funds that would be spent on reparations could be put to better uses.

So far, no country has ever paid reparations to the descendants of enslaved Africans or affected African, Caribbean and Latin American nations.

In March 2026, a resolution proposed by Ghana was passed at the United Nations recognising slavery as "the greatest crime against humanity".

The UK government said it recognised the "abhorrent nature of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade" but it did not take part in the vote as it objected to the wording of the proposal.

In September 2026, Jamaica bought a petition on reparations to the UK, which will be looked at by the highest court in Britain next year.

In response to that petition, the UK Prime Minster Andy Burnham's official spokesperson said the UK government's position on reparations was clear: "The UK does not and will not pay reparations."

They added that "the transatlantic slave trade was abhorrent, and of course it's right that we acknowledge the wrongs of the past".