The government of Barbados is campaigning for redress from the descendants of slavers. The family of actor Benedict Cumberbatch, whose ancestors owned a plantation, is in the sights.
Will Benedict Cumberbatch’s family have to compensate Barbados? The government of the Island, which recently freed itself from the British crown by becoming a republic, is leading a campaign to obtain redress from the descendants of slaves. The family of the British actor, whose ancestors owned a sugar cane plantation in the 18th century, is thus in the sights of Barbados.
David Comissiong, vice-president of the national commission on reparations thus indicated on December 30 to the Daily Telegraph be in the “early stages” of the process to claim damages and have not yet shed full light on this story.
Repairs
David Denny, secretary general of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, has estimated in the columns of the daily.
“Any descendant of white plantation owners who benefited from slavery should be asked to pay reparations, including the Cumberbatch family,”
The Cleland Plantation, owned by the actor’s ancestors, housed 250 slaves at the time. When slavery was abolished in 1833, wealthy British operators were compensated by the British government. The ancestors of Benedict Cumberbatch thus received 6,000 pounds, which today represents 3.6 million pounds (about 4 million euros), when their plantation ceased its activity.
“Appalling Atrocity”
Benedict Cumberbatch has never made a mystery of his family’s slave past. In an interview conducted in 2007, and relayed in 2014 by the New York Timeshe said his mother had urged him not to use his real name in a professional setting, lest he become the target of reparations lawsuits brought by descendants of slaves.
In 2013, Benedict Cumberbatch played a slave owner in Steve McQueen’s film, 12 Years a Slave. He also played the role of an abolitionist Prime Minister, the British William Pitt the Younger. in the movie amazing Gracein 2006. The actor saw it as a form of redemption for his family.
Barbados, like other Caribbean islands, is now trying to come to terms with its colonial past. Invited in November 2021 to witness Barbados’ transition to become a republic, Charles, then still Prince of Wales, spoke of “the appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever taints our stories”.
