A groundbreaking report by international experts reveals that Britain stole 25 million years of life and labour through chattel slavery in Barbados. The research, led by economist Coleman Bazelon, estimates the economic harm at up to $2 trillion (approximately £1.5 trillion). However, Bazelon stressed that this figure is not a bill but a factual basis for dialogue and reconciliation.
Details of the Study
The report, conducted through the non-profit Public Interest Experts, focuses on the value of labour and lives stolen during 200 years of slavery in Barbados. Bazelon explained that the value of uncompensated labour ranges from $500 billion to $700 billion. Additionally, the shortened lifespans of enslaved people account for $1.1 trillion to $1.3 trillion, bringing the total to $1.6 trillion to $2 trillion.
Historical Context
Barbados was the first major British colony to force enslaved Africans to work on plantations from the early 1600s. It is a founding member of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), which advocates for reparations. After Britain abolished slavery on 1 August 1834, £20 million was paid to enslavers as compensation for their lost "property," while the enslaved received nothing.
The report notes that approximately 379,000 Africans arrived in Barbados via slave ships. Another 78,000 died during the Middle Passage, and an estimated 335,000 people were born into slavery on the island.
Reactions from Officials and Experts
Barbados's Minister for Pan-African Affairs and Heritage, Trevor Prescod, stated, "You can't erase history. My job is to give an Afrocentric redress to the imbalances that occurred during the period of slavery." He added that the report will eventually go to the cabinet for ratification and that reparations and reparatory justice are central to their claims.
Professor Alan Lester from the University of Sussex, a leading expert on the British Empire, commented, "It's not surprising that when you add up the value of lives appropriated to make money in Barbados, you get such an enormous figure. The inequalities entrenched by slavery have only been exacerbated since."
Broader Implications
A 2023 Brattle analysis estimated that total harms from transatlantic chattel slavery in 31 territories across the Americas and the Caribbean amount to $100–131 trillion. This includes $77–108 trillion during enslavement and $23 trillion in ongoing harms. The analysis was commissioned after an international symposium concluded that transatlantic slavery was unlawful.
Last month, 123 nations at the UN General Assembly voted that chattel slavery was the gravest crime against humanity. The US, Israel, and Argentina voted against, while 52 countries, including the UK, abstained. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out direct monetary payments for reparations.
Advocacy for Reparative Justice
David Lascelles, co-founder of Heirs of Slavery—a group of descendants of British enslavers—said, "My distant ancestor Henry Lascelles made his fortune in Barbados in the 18th century. Now, 300 years later, it's high time we all recognise there is a debt to pay, a debt that is of course about money, but not just about money." Alex Renton, another co-founder, added that addressing the legacies of slavery is morally and practically the right thing for the nation to do.
