London, Nov 3 (PTI) King Charles III on Tuesday addressed the issue of Britain's historic role in the transatlantic slave trade by admitting that it was a “shameful chapter” in the country's past that “fills his heart with horror”.
The 77-year-old royal's address to formally open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda came amid mounting pressure from the Caribbean nations for an apology for the slave trade.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has joined the King at the summit, had earlier waded into the controversy by saying the government would be open to a formal apology to the Commonwealth for Britain's role in slavery.
“The transatlantic trade in enslaved persons still casts a shadow over these islands and other members of our Commonwealth," said King Charles.
“As I have said before, that shameful chapter of history is one that fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow.
“And yet history also teaches us that evil need not have the last word; that character and courage can combine to overcome the most monstrous injustice, as they did with the determination to end international trade in enslaved people, in which the Royal Navy played such a leading role," he said.
However, the monarch, in his role as the Head of the Commonwealth, reiterated that history is not something that can be chosen or changed.
“It is bequeathed to us in complex synthesis by forebears we can never know. Our inheritance includes both their achievements and their failures – the good they did as well as the wrongs. History can be hard to compass, viewed as it is through the prism of time, which can be both clarifying and distorting, and yet its consequences resonate with contemporary force.
“Our history inspires us, can appall us, yet it can always teach us. We cannot change the actions of those who came before us," he said.
Amid growing calls for “reparations” as compensation to those Commonwealth nations who were the victims of slavery, Buckingham Palace made it clear that it is not the British monarch’s role to decide whether the UK makes such payments for its part in the transatlantic trade of enslaved people.
Between 1500 and 1800, the UK Parliament passed acts in support of the slave trade. Eventually, the Parliament abolished the transatlantic slave trade in 1807 before banning enslaved labour colonies in 1833.
Downing Street has indicated that Burnham will set out government plans for what it is calling a "debt reset" to support Commonwealth countries having to deal with the growing costs of paying interest on their debts. This is seen as a compromise stance to address the demands for a formal apology and reparations.
The CHOGM summit is held every two years, bringing together leaders and representatives of the 56 Commonwealth member-nations to discuss the future of the partnership.
