The extent to which some of Britain’s wealthiest families profited from the exploitation of enslaved Africans has been made public for the first time.
Historians from University College London (UCL) spent three years compiling the database, which exposes individuals and companies who made a fortune from the Empire’s dark past.
The Legacies of British slave-ownership project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), breaks down a £20million sum of taxpayer money paid to slave-owners in compensation for the loss of their ‘property’, when slavery was made illegal in 1834. The sum represented 40 per cent of the Government’s annual spend and would be worth £16.bn by today’s standards.
Follow this link to read the full article: http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/slavery-payouts-fuel-reparations-debate
Reparations Scholar-Activist 