Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Will UK make amends for slavery/colonialism in BVI?

Will UK make amends for slavery/colonialism in BVI?

As the United Kingdom (UK) confronts the issue of racism in British society and the country’s longstanding problem of injustice toward people of African descent, it should not be forgotten that the people of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) are also victims of Britain’s dark legacy of slavery and colonialism.
The local population is primarily descended from the enslaved Africans brought to the colony to work on plantations by the British via the slave trade. The BVI also remains tied to the UK under the political designation of British Overseas Territory that is a modification of its earlier colonial status.

The UK has not made amends for its longstanding wrongs toward the people of the BVI. When slavery legally ended in 1834, the UK compensated British slave owners on the mainland and throughout the British Empire for the cost of each person of African descent they owned as a slave. However, no compensation or reparations were paid to the newly freed people or their descendants who were left poor and to fend for themselves.

While some may argue that slavery ended a long time ago, the $20.6 billion borrowed by the UK to pay off British slave owners across the empire was repaid by UK tax payers only in 2015 after 181 years of installments. No such financial obligation was made to compensate the formerly enslaved people in the BVI and elsewhere, or their descendants, for the dehumanisation and loss of life suffered during 200 years of slavery or for their subsequent gross colonial neglect after slavery ended for a period of 105 years in which the BVI became the poorest part of the British Leeward Islands Colony.

What makes Britain’s treatment of the people of the BVI even more shameful, is that just two years after the UK paid off its debt incurred to compensate slave owners for the persons they enslaved, the UK Government decided in 2017 not to provide direct grants for reconstruction to the BVI as an Overseas Territory to help rebuild after Hurricanes Irma and Maria inflicted catastrophic damage to the islands. Even the UK’s offer of a loan guarantee to the local Government on which to borrow for recovery did not materialise.

If the UK is sincere about a positive relationship with the BVI, it will make amends with the people of the islands for the dehumanisation of slavery; for not compensating the formerly enslaved people for their enslavement under Britain, while at the same time compensating slave owners for the persons they had enslaved; and for the gross neglect of the people of the islands for 105 years after slavery ended that triggered the Great March of 1949 against Britain.

Furthermore, the UK should explain why the UK Government in 2017 was unwilling to provide direct grants for reconstruction to help the people of the BVI rebuild after the devastation of two category 5 hurricanes, when just two years earlier in 2015, UK taxpayers completed repayment of the loan of $20.6 billion that was borrowed to compensate British slave owners for each person of African descent they enslaved.

The BVI’s upcoming annual August Emancipation Celebration to commemorate the legal end of slavery is an opportunity for the UK to begin the process of redressing its longstanding wrongs toward the people of the BVI. This can begin with offering an official apology for the enslavement of their foreparents and post-slavery colonial neglect, and a commitment to begin talks on how Britain can make the people of the BVI whole for its wrongs toward them. Doing so can help the UK and BVI move past the long unaddressed issue of slavery and to take further steps in addressing the legacy of colonialism and eliminating its last vestiges on the islands.



Benito Wheatley is a Policy Fellow at the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge.
He can be contacted at benitowheatley@gmail.com.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×