Bahamas reparations committee seeks apology after King Charles slavery remarks

The Bahamas National Reparations Committee said King Charles III’s remarks on slavery during an address in Nassau on Tuesday 27 October fell short of the formal apology and reparatory action it seeks from Britain and the monarchy.

In a statement issued after the address, the committee said Bahamian culture was created through the agency and survival of people subjected to enslavement and colonial rule. It said the royal family and British government should address their historical responsibility and explain how they would help repair harm caused under British rule.

Charles spoke at a youth gathering at Clifford Park, where he acknowledged suffering and injustice linked to slavery and referred to Bahamian cultural achievements, according to the committee’s response. The committee objected to what it described as his characterisation of the country’s culture as emerging from a painful period.

The King began a nine-day Caribbean tour that includes the Bahamas and Guyana before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda. The committee said it wants discussions on slavery’s legacy to include historical accountability, institutional responsibility and measures addressing the continuing developmental effects of slavery and colonialism.

The Bahamas became independent from Britain in 1973 and remains a constitutional monarchy with Charles as head of state.