The Legitimacy of International Reparations Claims from the Transatlantic Slave Trade. A Focus on Jamaica's Case against the United Kingdom

Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject Politics - Region: Middle and South America, grade: 1,0, Bielefeld University, course: Race and Racism: Theories and Media Representations, language: English, abstract: In this paper I want to outline the discourse of legitimacy of international reparations claims resulting from the Transatlantic Slave Trade, exemplified by the case of Jamaica, the former British colony, on the one hand, and the United Kingdom on the other. For a better understanding, we will start with a brief historical outline of what reparations are in the first place and why they are suitable to function as an act of reconciliation for historical wrongs. In the following, we will look specifically at the case of Jamaica's reparation claims against Great Britain, whereby Jamaica is not acting alone, but in conjunction with other Caribbean states. In doing so, we will trace what exactly Jamaica and other CARICOM countries are demanding reparations for and how they justify it. In the course of this, the question will logically arise as to why Great Britain has not complied with these well-founded demands to date, which is why the counterarguments will be examined more closely in the fourth chapter. This will be followed by a brief look into the future, with an assessment of how the British government could most likely be persuaded to engage with the reparation demands.