A British family made history on Monday February 27th by issuing an apology and paying reparations to the island of Grenada.
In the presence of public officials, delegates, students and other members of the community, members of the Trevelyan family made a public apology to the people of Grenada on behalf of their ancestors. That family had owned over 1,000 enslaved Africans who worked across six sugar plantations in Grenada.
After abolishing slavery in 1834, the Trevelyan family was paid £26,868 the following year in compensation by the British Government. Now, alongside their apology, the family has donated a £100,000 fund to the country of Grenada.
This fund will contribute to the establishment of a Reparations Research Fund at the University of the West Indies which will research the economic impacts of slavery with a focus on development in the Eastern Caribbean.
Their written apology was populated with signatures from members of the family and, after being read at the ceremony, handed over to Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell.
FULL APOLOGY: