What should be Britain’s ethical stance to calls for reparations for its part in the African slave trade?

In a recent near apology for Britain’s part in the African Slave Trade and the Irish Potato Famine, Mr. Blair went as far as he dared to accept the accountability and responsibility that the word, ‘sorry’ would connote, without actually saying it. With this word comes the danger of compensation, which, if we use the figures suggested in a recent conference in Durban on the subject, would cripple the country for decades, if not centuries. Admittedly, the conference was also about colonialism and empire and was referring to mainly European activities and to emerged states whose culture and government were ethnically European. The ‘villain of the piece’ is Britain, of course. Two facts make this so. Firstly, Britain and her Commonwealth ruled directly 25% of the population of the globe and about the same proportion of the land and her informal empire accounting for another large percentage. She had a formidable Navy and merchant marine; “Britain rules the waves” was not just boastfulness. Secondly, Britain shipped about a third of the total number of West Africans to the Americas.

The values of reparations are based on direct exploitation of resources and indirectly on the historical effects of European adventures like racism. To be part of the African Diaspora means you are more likely to live less well in material terms than your European neighbours. If you’re in prison in the UK you have a disproportionate chance to be part of the African Diaspora. If you live in Africa, you are much more likely to die from aids, malnutrition and violence and, of course you are much more likely to be poor.

The Race Relations Act in the UK and Affirmative Action program in the US have acknowledged the problem but, falls far short the degree of action called for. Mr Blair’s description of the African Slave Trade as a Crime Against Humanity similarly, might be seen as such.

In the parliament Mr. Blair’s statement has been satirised by an opposition M.P., “When will the Prime Minister apologise for the atrocious behaviour of Henry VIII towards his wives?” This may be seen as callous levity in the face of a global calamity, but the argument could have some merit. By the same token, you could ask, “When will the Barbarians atone for their part in the Fall of Rome which, subsequently precipitated in turn the Dark Ages, aggressive Christianity, The Crusades, European dominance and empire building, capitalism, industry and Global Warming. From this point of view it would appear that we all have something on somebody. Some of us, like me, have something on ourselves given, for example an Anglo/Irish background.

It could be further argued controversially that if Britain were to engage fully in a reparative process, she should also be rewarded for the ideal of the Sovereignty of Law, ending the slave trade at its most profitable and preventing it in the Atlantic and finally, surrendering her empire to prevent the emergence of fascist empires. This type of argumentation also draws attention to the fact that six ex-colonies are among the highest per capita GDP and one of those is the richest, most powerful country, ever. Another ex-colony is the largest functioning democracy on Earth and is well on the way to the rich club of nations. Granted much of this is down to the ex-colonies own endeavours, but that they are a large proportion of wealthy, stable nations and are all intimately linked historically with the British Empire suggests that something somewhere worked well.

Clearly however, something for the sake of humanity has to be done about empire and its real and demonstrable ill effects. The argument that this reparative claim is not valid due to the fact that all of us have something on someone else historically has some merit, but where the effects of historical misdeeds are still having profound effects on many levels from the personal to the global, the argument loses its claim. To asses the mediating effects of what good came of the British Empire is fraught with danger, since it is almost wholly accepted the empires and their activities were not good ideas, but there must surely be something mitigating in that she cleaned up her imperial act largely by her own efforts as a result of ideas of the 18^th C British Enlightenment.