A recent survey reveals that a significant majority of Britons lack knowledge about the scale and legacy of Britain’s involvement in the slave trade and colonialism. This includes the fact that more than 3 million individuals were forcibly transported from Africa to the Caribbean by British enslavers and that British merchants enslaved people in the Caribbean for over 300 years. It was only after 2000 that taxpayers in the UK completed repaying the funds borrowed by the government in 1833 to compensate enslavers. Despite a growing support for some form of reparations, there is still a significant ignorance of these historical facts among the British public.

The survey, commissioned by the Repair Campaign, also highlights a demand for a formal apology and financial reparations, with the funds directed towards long-term projects in education, health, and infrastructure. The findings underscore the urgent need for education and a willingness to acknowledge and confront Britain’s past, particularly with the Labour government ruling out cash reparations. The campaign is working with the Caribbean community to secure reparatory justice, emphasizing the critical importance of addressing these knowledge gaps to foster justice and reconciliation.