An Open Letter to Prince Edward and
the Countess Of Wessex
– Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission – Antiguans and Barbudans are a respectful people and so we join with our
Governor General, our Prime Minister and Government in welcoming you to our nation as
representatives of our Head of State, Queen of England, Elizabeth II.
We ask for a return of similar respect.
It has become common for members of the royal family and representatives of the
Government of Britain to come to this region and lament that slavery was an 'appalling
atrocity,' that it was 'abhorrent,' that 'it should not have happened.' We have heard such from
your former Prime Minister David Cameron and most recently from your father, the Prince of
Wales and your nephew, Prince William. But such sentiments did not convey new knowledge
to us. African people and their descendants -- as most of us are -- have known such since the
middle of the sixteenth century. We have been on the receiving end of the barbarity. We hear
the phony sanctimony of those who came before you that these crimes are a 'stain on your
history.' For us, they are the source of genocide and of continuing deep international injury,
injustice and racism. We hope you will respect us by not repeating the mantra. We are not
simpletons.
We share with you some other things that we know. We present these issues in a
non-confrontational manner. Our reparations ideology seeks to foster and facilitate
reconciliation between Europe and the nations of our region.
We know that the European slave trade, the enslavement of Africans, the genocide of
Indigenous peoples of this region and the deceptive indentureship imposed on Asians were not
acts of nature. They did not fall from heaven like manna, they did not occur like hurricanes or
earthquakes. They resulted from willful acts of white Europeans aimed solely at Africans. We
know that the British Crown -- both as royal family and as institution, is historically
documented as an active participant in the largest crimes against humanity of all time.
We know that as early as 1558, John Hawkins used one of Queen Elizabeth's ships on one of
his slave-trading voyages and shared the profits with her -- and further that she 'went on to
exert Crown control over trade with West Africa, including trade in slaves, by issuing letters
patent for such voyages in 1561, 1585, 1588, and 1592.'
We know that during the seventeenth century your family ancestors were owners and
investors in the Royal African Company (and associated companies the Royal Gambia
Company and the Royal Adventurers Company) set up under Charles II and his cousin King
James II. We know that these companies, all dubbed 'Royal,' engaged in the kidnap and
transportation of hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the
Caribbean.
We know that the Crown 'owned' enslaved Africans as late as 1831, three years before the
passage of the Emancipation Act. Those enslaved included our ancestors. We ask that
you respect that.
We also know that no one today in your family was alive when the crimes against humanity
were committed. So please do not tell us that again either -- as others before you have done.
We know however that everyone in your family continues to live in the splendour, pomp and
wealth attained through the proceeds of the crimes.
We alert you that throughout your visit to the region, you will hear the call of Caribbean
people to the British crown and Government for reparations for slavery. We know that a
former British prime minister has described these Caribbean nations as 'the slums of the
Empire.' We know that our leaders, respectful as they are, will find ingenious ways to hide
the physical shame of slum from your eyes but we assure you that across our region, many
still live in deep persistent poverty and social despair. The call for reparations is not an
academic exercise. It is a demand to Britain and the other enslaving countries of Europe for
partnership in a constructive strategy to meet the social and economic development gaps in
the region, those imposed through slavery and colonialism and those that are perpetuated
through the incredibly unjust existing neo-colonial international order which Europe and the
United States champion.
Respectfully, we ask a few questions and we hope that you will provide answers during one
of the addresses you are scheduled to make here or in any other nation in your
'goodwill-don't-leave-us' tour. Why is it so hard for you to sincerely apologize for your
nation's role in slavery, like decent human beings do when they offend? We know that
'acknowledging and accounting for wrongs is deeply enshrined within both British law and
society.' Then, why is it that you cannot apologize for your nation's documented historical
wrong? Do you think like members of your family before you seemed to think, that we are a
sub-human species and therefore not worthy of an apology?
With utmost respect,
Signed
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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