More than 100 residents gathered outside an Indigenous cultural site in Guyana on Friday to see King Charles III, bringing children and waiting in the intense heat for a glimpse of the British monarch. Guyana became independent from Britain almost 60 years ago.
Nearby, around two dozen protesters held signs calling for Britain to pay reparations and apologize for the enslavement and trafficking of millions of Africans during the 18th and 19th centuries. The group chanted, “Not our king!”
The demonstrations highlighted the continuing debate over Britain’s history of slavery and the responsibilities of the king and government during Charles’s seven-day tour of three former colonies. The issue has divided opinion across countries that were once part of the British Empire.
Elton Campbell, a 76-year-old insurance agent from Guyana’s capital, criticized Britain’s decision in the 1830s to compensate slave owners after abolishing slavery while providing no equivalent payment to enslaved people or their descendants. He said Charles should explain that history to Guyana and to Black people around the world.
On Friday, Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham said for the first time that the government was open to issuing a formal apology for the country’s involvement in the slave trade, which he described as “brutal and barbaric.”
Sources: The New York Times World.