Jamaica demands £7.6 billion in reparations from King Charles III

A Jamaican delegation has arrived in London to present a petition to King Charles III, demanding £7.6 billion (approximately €8.8 billion) in reparations for the historical legacy of slavery.

Led by Culture Minister Olivia Grange and members of the national reparations council, the delegation is calling on the King, in his capacity as Head of State of Jamaica, to involve the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The petition seeks a legal determination on whether the forced transport of Africans to Jamaica constituted a crime against humanity and whether the United Kingdom is obligated to provide reparations.

The claim highlights a historical grievance regarding the 1833 abolition of slavery in British colonies. At that time, the British Parliament paid £20 million to plantation owners as compensation for the loss of their “property,” a sum that represented roughly 40 percent of the British Treasury's annual revenue. The debt incurred to fund these payments was not fully repaid by the British government until 2015.