King Charles faces calls for slavery apology

ORANJESTAD — King Charles III is beginning a sensitive Caribbean tour amid growing demands for an official apology and reparations for Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade.

The king will visit the Bahamas, Guyana, and Antigua and Barbuda, where he will attend the Commonwealth conference involving 56 countries. His visit comes as several Caribbean nations debate whether to abandon the British monarchy and become republics.

The Bahamas National Reparations Committee has warned Charles not to arrive "empty-handed", while Jamaica is pursuing legal clarification of Britain's responsibility for slavery and possible reparations.

The British government does not intend to issue a formal apology or commit to financial compensation. Charles has previously acknowledged the suffering caused by slavery, describing it as one of the darkest chapters in British history.

Between 1624 and 1807, approximately 2.3 million enslaved Africans were transported to British Caribbean colonies.

Unlike Britain, Dutch King Willem-Alexander formally apologized in 2023 for the Netherlands' history of slavery.