Paying tribute to former slaves

Apology Demanded from Government for Slave Trade

They held a ceremony at Rapparee Cove, Ilfracombe, to commemorate the loss of the sailing vessel, the London, which was shipwrecked 200 years ago. A mass grave found nearby is thought to contain the remains either of black slaves or prisoners of war.

Holidaymakers watched as members of the Africa Reparations Movement beat drums, held a prayer ceremony on the sands and observed three minutes silence for those who died.

Some sixty black people drowned when the London went down in 1796

Remains of bones still bearing manacles have been identified. The London was coming from St Lucia in the Caribbean when it went down in 1796, but experts are keeping an open mind until the bone fragments have been thoroughly analysed.

One theory is that the 60 people of African origin who drowned in the shipwreck were freed slaves who had been captured while fighting with the French against the British.

However, for those who attended the ceremony at the beach, the shipwreck symbolises the wider suffering of their ancestors.

Grant demands apology from the Prime Minister

The Africa ReparationsMovement's founder, Bernie Grant MP, called on the current Government to atone for Britain's past misdeeds: "I know that the Prime Minister has apologised to Irish people for the part played by the British government in the potato famine. And this was around the same time. So he shouldn't find any difficulty in actually apologising to black people."

The British ports of Bristol and Liverpool grew rich in the 17th and 18th centuries on international trade that included slaves. Ships took manufactured goods to sell in West Africa, picking up slaves there to take on to the West Indies and North America. On the final leg, products like sugar and tobacco were brought back to sell in Britain.