The descendants of a 19th-century Scottish sugar and coffee planter who owned thousands of slaves in Guyana apologized Friday for the sins of their ancestor, calling slavery a crime against humanity with lasting negative impacts, after Guyana President Irfaan Ali tore into them on Thursday.
President Ali said those who profited from the cruel, trans-Atlantic slave trade should offer to pay reparations to today’s generations, proposing that those involved in the slave trade be posthumously charged for crimes against humanity.
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Ali said, “The descendants of John Gladstone must now also outline their plan of action in line with the Caricom…plan for reparatory justice for slavery and indentureship.”
Six members of the family arrived late Thursday to participate in a brief ceremony at the University of Guyana on Friday
Charles Gladstone, a descendant of former plantation owner John Gladstone, traveled to Guyana from Britain with five relatives to offer the formal apology.
“It is with deep shame and regret that we acknowledge our ancestors’ involvement in this crime and with heartfelt sincerity, we apologize to the descendants of the enslaved in Guyana,” he told an audience at the University of Guyana. “In doing so, we acknowledge slavery’s continuing impact on the daily lives of many.”
Ali did not attend the event.
Gladstone announced that his family would create a fund as part of a “meaningful and long-term relationship between our family and the people of Guyana.” Their plan includes a formal apology and investment of billions in education, health, infrastructure and cultural revitalization to ensure that “future generations are unshackled from the chains of history.”
He said, “In writing this heartfelt apology, we also acknowledge Sir John Gladstone’s role in bringing indentured laborers to Guyana, and apologize for the clear and manifold injustices of this.”
Like their leader, some Guyanese locals were not enthused by the presence of the visitors, and protested outside, shouting “Murderers!” and held signs reading, “The Gladstones are murderers” and “Stolen people, stolen dreams.”
Leading the protest was Cedric Castellow, who dismissed the apology as “perfunctory” and said Britain and other European countries owe Guyana and the Caribbean billions of dollars in reparation payments.
John Gladstone was the father of 19th-century British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone and received more than 100,000 pounds in compensation for hundreds of slaves.
A renowned 1823 slave revolt took place on his estate at Success Village on Guyana’s east coast. The so-called freedom rebellion was crushed in two days with hundreds of slaves killed. Some enslaved people were beheaded and had their heads planted on poles all the way to Georgetown, Guyana’s colonial and current capital, to send a message to others who may have had similar ideas.
