Benedict Cumberbatch may face reparations for family’s slave trade history
3 min read
Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage
Benedict Cumberbatch might find himself in legal trouble with the Barbados government. It comes after his family’s slave trade history in the country came to light.
Here is everything you need to know.
Benedict Cumberbatch might pay reparations over family slave trade links in Barbados
Benedict Cumberbatch and his family might face a financial squeeze from the Barbados government in the coming months.
Moreover, reports suggest that officials are planning to seek reparations from Cumberbatch’s family.
For the unversed, Barbados officially became a republic in 2021. It further broke the 396 years of the British monarchy’s control over the island.
Hence, the government officials in Barbados have started to seek reparations from the descendants of former slave-owning families and plantation holders.
Benedict Cumberbatch's family could be forced to pay reparations to Barbados for running a slave plantation on the island in the 18th and 19th century.
— Lorraine King (@lorrainemking) December 31, 2022
When the plantation was forced to close his family were given £6,000 in compensation – in today's money that's £3.6million. pic.twitter.com/ZE0sy5DWyZ
According to reports Cumberbatch’s seventh great-grandfather, Abraham Cumberbatch bought the Cleland plantation in the 18th century.
In addition, it is said that Cumberbatch’s family used to own 250 enslaved people. They also used to benefit from the slave trade. Subsequently, Cumberbatch’s ancestors continued to use slaves until slavery was abolished in Barbados in 1834.
However, following the abolishment of slavery, the British government went on to pay a total of £6,000 to the family. Today, the small fortune is estimated to be worth around $ 1 million.
Meanwhile, Cumberbatch himself has spoken about his family’s history during an interview with the Telegraph in 2018.
He candidly said, ‘We have our past – you don’t have to look far to see the slave-owning past. We were part of the whole sugar industry, which is a shocker.’
#RichardDrax #Dorset pic.twitter.com/7mZWAT1wxd
— Richard DRAX MP not 🌻 🇺🇦 (@DraxNot) December 31, 2022
Ironically, Cumberbatch was seen in the role of a slave owner in the Oscar-winning movie ’12 Years a Slave’ which was released in 2013.
Additionally, he was featured as William Pitt the Younger in the 2006 movie ‘Amazing Grace’ which centers around Great Britain’s battle to abolish slavery.
Besides that, it remains unclear whether Cumberbatch’s family inheritance was used to pay for his education at Harrow School in London.
Netizens react to Benedict Cumberbatch’s family connections with slavery
Many social media users took to Twitter to express their thoughts over the news of Benedict Cumberbatch’s ancestors being slave owners.
A user wrote, ‘the argument around Benedict Cumberbatch and reparations is reminding me why I hate when ill-minded people pick and choose facts and say “Britain paid to abolish slavery” like, yeah babe, they paid the slave owners.’
the argument around benedict cumberbatch and reparations is reminding me why i hate when ill-minded people pick and choose facts and say "britain paid to abolish slavery" like, yeah babe, they paid the slaveowners
— normal girl (@cosmicblackgirl) January 1, 2023
Someone else jokingly chimed in sharing, ‘Benedict was really playing his 7th great grandfather in 12 years a slave.’
300 years later and even their goddamn faces are the same. Excellent work Barbados 💪🏻 (photo taken from the house on the old plantation site) pic.twitter.com/O8KewvVt4d
— Eirnin (@queertyyr) December 31, 2022
JLo should be required to give every woman one million dollars if she actually gets back together with Ben Affleck. As reparations.
— A.G. (@AndryGag) May 11, 2021
