France's Slave Trade Role in Focus as African and Caribbean Nations Demand Reparations
African and Caribbean nations are demanding a formal apology and contributions to a UN reparations fund after a landmark resolution labeled the transatlantic slave trade the “gravest crime against humanity”. At a high-level conference in Accra, dignitaries including Ghana’s President John Mahama and Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley laid wreaths at Christiansborg Castle—once a slave post—and urged former slaving nations to reckon with their history. Historians estimate 12–15 million Africans were forced across the Atlantic from the 15th to the 19th century. British traders transported about 70% of captives, while French merchants often purchased enslaved people from Anglo fleets for Caribbean plantations. Observers say profits from cotton and sugar fueled Britain’s Industrial Revolution and America’s early economy, deepening a lasting wealth gap in West Africa. Debates over France’s comparatively indirect role and the collusion of modern African leaders show how complex reparatory justice discussions remain.
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