Jamaica may seek reparations from Britain to fund ‘dark tourism’

Jamaica may seek reparations from Britain to fund its heritage sector, the Telegraph can reveal. The Caribbean nation, which was under British rule until 1962, is mulling plans to persuade the UK government and major museums to fund exhibitions focussed on British colonialism. Reparation payments of around £500,000, sought for the centuries of slavery suffered, would go to conserving ports, hospitals and courthouses tied to imperial rule. The plans come after the Telegraph revealed that Edmund Bartlett, the Jamaican Minister for Tourism, hopes to preserve Georgian sites, including the homes of slave owners, as potential centres of “dark tourism”. Mr Bartlett told the Telegraph:  “We are interested in what is called Dark Tourism. “The built heritage is very, very important, because it tells a story in stone and sticks and mortar. “Jamaica, being a confluence of so many cultures and peoples, has a story that you need to connect with, because a little piece of [the British] is really here, a piece of your history, your past.” Tharp House is currently undergoing renovation Credit: Sukimac Photography The Telegraph revealed in September that Caribbean Community (Caricom) nations were poised to formally seek payment from British institutions including the Church of England...