Family Of Former Slaver Apologizes For Guyanese Slave Trade
Descendants of John Gladstone, a 19th-Century British sugar and coffee planter who owned thousands of enslaved people, traveled to Guyana to issue a formal apology for their ancestors’ actions. According to the Associated Press, Charles Gladstone and five other relatives made the trip to the University of Guyana, where the family addressed a crowd gathered for the occasion.
“It is with deep shame and regret that we acknowledge our ancestors’ involvement in this crime, and with heartfelt sincerity, we apologize to the descendants of the enslaved in Guyana,” Gladstone said. “In doing so, we acknowledge slavery’s continuing impact on the daily lives of many.”
The trip follows a call from Guyanese President Irfaan Ali for Britain and other European nations to issue reparations payments on Aug. 24.
Ali also was critical of the descendants of slave traders in his remarks, saying, “The trans-Atlantic slave trade and African enslavement were an affront to humanity itself. The heinousness of this crime against humanity demands that we seek to right these wrongs. The descendants of John Gladstone must now also outline their plan of action in line with the Caricom…plan for reparatory justice for slavery and indentureship.”
John Gladstone was an absentee plantation owner, but he was in charge when a rebellion occurred in 1823 in Success Village. As a result of the efforts to end the rebellion, the enslaved who rebelled had their heads decapitated and mounted on poles all the way to the capital of Georgetown as a warning. In his speech,
According to Charles Gladstone, there will be a partnership created between his family and the people of Guyana.
“In writing this heartfelt apology, we also acknowledge Sir John Gladstone’s role in bringing indentured laborers to Guyana, and apologize for the clear and manifold injustices of this,” Charles Gladstone said.
Outside the auditorium, there was a small protest taking place where protesters shouted and held up signs reading “The Gladstones are murderers” and “Stolen people, stolen dreams.” The leader of the protest, Cedric Castellow, claimed that Britain and other colonizing countries owe Guyana and the Caribbean billions of dollars.
“The British government and others benefited from the slave trade, their descendants and heirs. They owe us, and the legacy will affect future generations as well,” Castellow told the Associated Press.
After the speech, ex-BBC journalist Laura Trevelayan, whose family also apologized for their role in the slave trade in Guyana, told the Associated Press, “It seems that the momentum for the global reparations movement is being led by the Caribbean and its intellectuals.”
Trevelyan added, “People like us support the Caricom … plan, and I really hope that the British government will begin negotiations with the Caribbean in the near future.”
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