Colonialism | Risky royal Caribbean trip

In the Bahamas, King Charles avoided embarrassing scenes. His trip to former Caribbean colonies still contains a lot of explosives. Photo: dpa/AP/Tim Aylen The last state visit of King Charles III. was a resounding success for British diplomacy. During his three-day visit to the US in April, he delighted host Donald Trump and his speech to Congress earned him a standing ovation. But when he gets on a plane again for a trip across the Atlantic, a much less enthusiastic audience awaits him. His visit to the Caribbean is accompanied by a heated debate about the slave trade and the role the monarchy played in it, as well as demands for British reparations.

The nine-day tour of the region begins in the Bahamas, then continues to Guyana and finally Antigua and Barbuda. All three states are part of the Commonwealth of Nations, the successor organization to the British Empire; the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda have the monarch in London as head of state.

In recent years there have been increasing tensions in the relationship between London and the former British colonies in the Caribbean. The movement to abolish the monarchy is growing in several nations, including Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda. Barbados became a republic in 2021. At the same time, the campaign for compensation for the slave trade has received greater attention. The demand is that Great Britain should pay reparations to the victims of human trafficking.

What brought great wealth to Great Britain left deep economic and social damage in the slave colonies that continues to have an impact today.

Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, European colonial powers transported an estimated ten million Africans across the Atlantic. Those who survived the crossing spent their lives working on the sugar cane and cotton plantations in the Caribbean and American colonies. Great Britain was at the forefront: in the 18th century alone, British ships abducted 2.85 million people from Africa to America.

What gave Great Britain enormous wealth left behind deep economic and social damage in the slave colonies that continues to have an impact today - or so argue the proponents of reparations. Last March, a vast majority of 123 nations voted in favor of a UN resolution introduced by Ghana that called slavery a grave crime against humanity; Reparations are “a concrete step toward making amends for a historical injustice,” the resolution says. Great Britain abstained from voting. Caribbean nations are currently developing an action plan to force Britain into a reparations deal. A few weeks ago, Andy Burnham reiterated the previous British position: Great Britain will not pay reparations.

The monarchy plays an important role in the slavery debate. As several studies have shown in recent years, many British queens and kings were actively involved in the slave trade. In September, a collective of academics published research showing the close links between the British Crown and human trafficking. Charles himself has shown himself to be open to a historical examination of such connections.

Nevertheless, he is likely to face a lot of criticism in the Caribbean. The Bahamas Reparations Committee spoke plainly before the visit: "Children will stand in the sun to wave to a crown that has taken everything from their ancestors." All three countries that Charles visits have spoken out in favor of reparations. Buckingham Palace announced before the visit that Charles would speak of the "darkest days" of colonial rule - but on the advice of the British government he would not make a formal apology for the slave trade.

Buckingham Palace remembers the last royal trip to the region with a shudder. In 2022, pictures went around the world showing Prince William and Princess Kate shaking hands with Jamaican schoolchildren through a chain link fence. Local commentators said it felt like a step back into colonial times.

But even if such embarrassing scenes are avoided this time, the king is entering difficult diplomatic territory. "This is the biggest risk of his reign so far because so much is beyond his control," historian Anthony Seldon told the BBC. Because slavery and reparations are at stake, “the moral integrity of the monarch” is up for debate.

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