debut: 2/16/17
35,135 runs
Barbados to seek reparation from British plantation owner
The Barbados government has hinted at the possibility of negotiating payment for reparations with the British owners regarding the Drax Hall plantation that for centuries had been the scene of inhumane treatment of enslaved African ancestors.Drax Hall, where sugar cane was introduced, driving the plantation slave economy, has been described by historian and University of the West Indies Vice Chancellor, Sir Hilary Beckles as a “killing field”. An estimated 30 000 enslaved people died on the Drax estates over a span of 200 years.
Barbados to seek reparation from British plantation owner
Prime Minister Mia Mottley, whose administration had sought to compulsory acquire the plantation for a housing project, it nonetheless has no intention of breaching the Constitution by taking up anybody’s land without paying them.Critics of the acquisition have suggested the government should confiscate the property as reparations rather than enriching the pockets of the owner, British MP Richard Drax, a descendant of Colonel Henry Drax who introduced sugar cultivation to Barbados within a decade of settlement.
But, Mottley in a late night broadcast on Tuesday, said that having already met with Drax, and though not happy with the pace at which talks have been progressing, she believes the focus should be on pushing for a reasonable settlement for reparations.“And to that extent, the government has expressed itself of wanting to be able to find a settlement that would be just for the people of St George and for the people of Barbados.
The Barbados government has hinted at the possibility of negotiating payment for reparations with the British owners regarding the Drax Hall plantation that for centuries had been the scene of inhumane treatment of enslaved African ancestors.Drax Hall, where sugar cane was introduced, driving the plantation slave economy, has been described by historian and University of the West Indies Vice Chancellor, Sir Hilary Beckles as a “killing field”. An estimated 30 000 enslaved people died on the Drax estates over a span of 200 years.
Barbados to seek reparation from British plantation owner
Prime Minister Mia Mottley, whose administration had sought to compulsory acquire the plantation for a housing project, it nonetheless has no intention of breaching the Constitution by taking up anybody’s land without paying them.Critics of the acquisition have suggested the government should confiscate the property as reparations rather than enriching the pockets of the owner, British MP Richard Drax, a descendant of Colonel Henry Drax who introduced sugar cultivation to Barbados within a decade of settlement.
But, Mottley in a late night broadcast on Tuesday, said that having already met with Drax, and though not happy with the pace at which talks have been progressing, she believes the focus should be on pushing for a reasonable settlement for reparations.“And to that extent, the government has expressed itself of wanting to be able to find a settlement that would be just for the people of St George and for the people of Barbados.
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