Michael Banner | Britain’s Slavery Debt: Reparations Now!
Thu 24 Apr 2025 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm


‘Slavery ended a long time ago’ is a standard objection to Britain paying reparations for historic wrongs to present Caribbean inhabitants. In Britain’s Slavery Debt, Michael Banner, Dean of Trinity College, carefully considers and answers objections like this and acknowledges the complexities and practical problems involved. Come and join the discussion of why reparations are not punishment and what can be done, here and now, by individuals and institutions.
Britain owes reparations to the Caribbean. The exploitation of generations trafficked from Africa, or born into enslavement, to work the immensely profitable sugar plantations, enriched both British individuals and the British nation. Colonialism, even after emancipation, sustained the exploitation. The Caribbean still suffers, and Britain still benefits.
Venue: Old Divinity School
Duration: 1 hour
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Author Biography
Michael Banner is Dean and Fellow of Trinity College, University of Cambridge, having previously held chairs at the University of Edinburgh and at King’s College, University of London. He has been a regular contributor to discussions of public policy in areas ranging from the environment to the use of animals in science, from ethical investment to the regulation of the use of human tissue, and has chaired or served as a member of numerous government committees over the past 25 years.