Britain's slave legacy and the case for reparations

When the UK finally abolished slavery in the 1830s, the financial impact was significant. It fell on merchants, businessmen, aristocrats, politicians, and the city institutions that had supported them in their abhorrent ventures. To mitigate the impact, the government oversaw the second largest bailout in British history (not exceeded until 2009): payments totalling £20m (the modern equivalent of around £23bn) to 46,000 slave owners for the loss of their ‘property’. In this webinar we will explore who those recipients were, where they fit into the broader debate about reparations for slavery, what justice for historical wrongs looks like and how you go about achieving it.