New research reveals King George IV profited from slavery in Grenada

Grenada has vowed to step up its pursuit of an apology and reparations from King Charles after new research revealed that George IV personally profited from slavery on the Caribbean island... SEE THE NEXT PAGES for more... The research by independent scholar Desirée Baptiste shows that George IV, who ruled for a decade until 1830, received profits from enslaved labour on Grenadian plantations – a finding that experts say heightens pressure on the monarchy to confront its historical links to slavery. Baptiste found a 1823-24 document at the National Archives in London revealing a £1,000 ($1,343) payment – equivalent to around £103,132 ($138,490) today – from two Crown-owned estates in Grenada where hundreds of enslaved people laboured in the 18th and 19th centuries. The funds were paid into King George IV’s private coffers, and contributed to his “lavish lifestyle”, said Baptiste, a researcher on colonialism and transatlantic slavery who has roots in Grenada. Arley Gill, the head of the Grenada Reparations Commission said: “We always knew that the Royal Family directly profited from the Atlantic slave trade and slavery, but now that we know that the Royal Family directly profited from the state of Grenada, we renew our call, even stronger now, for the royal family to apologise and to pay reparations.” King Charles expressed sorrow over slavery in a speech to Commonwealth leaders in 2022, and last year, amidst calls for discussions on reparations at the Commonwealth leaders’ summit, the monarch acknowledged the “painful aspects” of Britain’s past – but he did not directly address the thorny issue of reparations. Gill said the people of Grenada are calling on Charles to go further than vague expressions of regret, and make a full apology “because blood is on the hands of the British royal family”. “He is still the head of state of Grenada. And it will not be worthy of him to be the head of state of a country that he profited from in slavery and [for which he] failed to apologise and failed to make reparations. He will not be a worthy king,” Gill said. He argued the new revelations gave added urgency to efforts to remove the King as head of state in Grenada. Baptiste’s research was verified by a University of Manchester professor, Edmond Smith, and Nick Draper, founder of University College London’s Legacies of British Slave-ownership project. Smith, who is supervising a PhD study on the royal family’s role in slavery, said as more evidence is uncovered the monarchy’s profits from slavery will become clearer. He said this payment “might well just be the tip of the iceberg”. Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment. King Charles has backed the study led by Smith, following a 2023 Guardian report revealing that in 1689 King William III received £1,000 ($1,343) in shares in the Royal African Company, which trafficked thousands of enslaved Africans to the Americas. “This evidence fits with long-term patterns of colonial exploitation by the British royal family, including repeated efforts to find novel income streams from colonies in the Caribbean,” Smith told Reuters. Baptiste’s research, from her independent study “Slaves the Property of His Majesty: George IV and Grenada”, comes amid growing global momentum for reparations for slavery, especially across the Caribbean and Africa. During the centuries-long transatlantic slave trade more than 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported to the Americas, where they were sold into slavery. In July, Caribbean leaders backed a petition from Jamaica to King Charles on reparations, which asked the monarch to use his authority to request legal advice from the London-based privy council – the final court of appeal for UK overseas territories and some Commonwealth countries – on whether the forced transport of Africans to Jamaica was lawful, if it constituted a crime against humanity, and whether Britain was under obligation to provide a remedy to Jamaica for slavery and its enduring consequences. Keir Starmer’s government has resisted discussions about the issue, with an official spokesperson saying last year, “we do not pay reparations”. SOURCE: The Guardian

New research reveals King George IV profited from slavery in Grenada

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