Calls for slavery reparations grow louder as British king visits Caribbean

British King Charles’ nine-day visit to the Caribbean is being overshadowed by increasingly vocal demands for reparations payments for its role in the slave trade.

He did acknowledge the injustices of slavery on his first day in the Bahamas, saying Commonwealth leaders will discuss the issue at their summit next week, but stopped short of an apology.

But demonstrators in Nassau’s Clifford Park on Wednesday held banners saying regret was not enough, with others shouting, “Pay us what you owe us”.

“Our message is that we want freedom, redemption, international repatriation, with full compensation; otherwise, there is no reparatory justice,” said Jevon Thompson, Chairman of the Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress.

He said they understand that King Charles and British monarchy are saying they are not apologising and that they “feel like they don't have anything to answer to”.

“But we are here to remind them that they do. Crime does not rot. There's no statute of limitation on murder," said Thompson.

The issue of reparations is gathering momentum across the Caribbean, with regional bloc CARICOM last month calling for the matter to be added to Commonwealth summit agenda.

From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted by European traders and transported to the Americas where they we sold into slavery.

Britain was one of the biggest slave-trading nations.

It transported an estimated 3.2 million people across the Atlantic, where they worked for the profit of their owners and, ultimately, the British Empire.