Caribbean historians want Richard Drax to pay reparations – but now Barbados plans to buy his land for homes

The Conservative MP under fire for his ancestors’ role in Caribbean slavery is in line for a multimillion-pound payout from the Barbados government.

Despite threats to make Richard Drax pay reparations and seize his family’s plantation – described by one historian as a “killing field” of enslaved Africans – the government is now planning to pay market value for 21 hectares (about 15 football pitches) of his land for housing.

The move has angered many Barbadians, especially those who say the Drax family played a pivotal role in the development of slavery-based sugar production and the Barbados slave code in the 17th century. This denied Black Africans basic human rights, including the right to life.

Critics have called the planned deal an “atrocity” and said this is “one plantation that the government should not be paying a cent for”.

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Drax is one of the wealthiest MPs and is worth at least £150m.

Historian Prof Sir Hilary Beckles has described Drax Hall as a “crime scene” where tens of thousands of Africans died in terrible conditions. The Draxes also owned a slave plantation in Jamaica, which they sold in the 18th century, and at least two ships that brought enslaved Africans to the Caribbean.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    3•2 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The move has angered many Barbadians, especially those who say the Drax family played a pivotal role in the development of slavery-based sugar production and the Barbados slave code in the 17th century.

    In December 2020, the Observer revealed that Drax had taken control of the 250-hectare plantation on his father’s death in 2017 but he had not declared this in the UK MPs’ register of interests.

    Historian Prof Sir Hilary Beckles has described Drax Hall as a “crime scene” where tens of thousands of Africans died in terrible conditions.

    In 2022, the Observer reported that Drax, the MP for South Dorset, travelled to Barbados to meet prime minister Mia Mottley.

    Mottley’s spokesperson said the current Drax Hall purchase was not linked to reparations and the government “constantly acquires land through this process”.

    Barbados housing minister Dwight Sutherland, whose constituency in St George parish includes Drax Hall, said: “This is an acquisition process at market value.

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