If you were to hurt someone's feelings, you would owe them an apology. If you were to punch them, you may owe them compensation. And if you stole from them, you might be facing a jail sentence.

These are the basic hallmarks of our justice system. If you do wrong to others, you will face retributionA punishment given to somebody who is perceived to have done something wrong. .

Some find it ironic. After all, they say, from imperialismThe practice of growing a country's power through colonisation or force. to slavery, partitionIn 1947, the British Raj was split into India and Pakistan. , repression and famine, Britain has been built on violence.

Take slavery as an example. Britain was responsible for the forced servitudeState of being a slave. of more than three million people in its four centuries of slave labour. There were 46,000 British slave owners.

The human impact was unspeakable. But dehumanisation was profitable for slave-owners and government alike. Some think that now is the time for Britain and other major European economies to pay reparationsProviding payment to make amends for a wrongdoing. for their ills.

For the Caribbean nations writing letters to European nations demanding reparations, Britain's ills amount to £18 trillion - and King Charles, whose family links to the slave trade have been heavily scrutinisedExamined closely. , is in the spotlight.

Some organisations and institutions with links to slavery have pledged funds towards reparations, such as the University of Harvard and Glasgow University. Over 100 British families with slave-owning ancestors have pledged to make reparations. But this presents a certain disconnect with the British government, which has never apologised for its own role.

The problem cuts deep into British national identity. Leading figures in the Church of England and the Bank of England owned and exploited enslaved people. Direct ancestors of King Charles exploited slave labour on tobacco plantations in Virginia.

Some say that Britain and other European countries already pay reparations in the form of development aid. But others argue that this aid often comes with conditions attached. And as many have highlighted, arguably reparations should go to the descendants of slaves themselves.

Can you really charge an invoice to a whole country? Slave-owners, who benefited arguably the most from slavery, were an elite socioeconomic class. But if we budget for reparations, low income Brits will disproportionately foot the bill.

It is a symbolic act, some assert. The atrocities that took place during slavery cannot be calculated as a sum of money. Compensating for the economic damage is the closest we can get.

Yes: There is no point in trying to compensate for the past in the present. Nobody who is alive now is responsible for the acts of their ancestors. And charging such a huge sum of money would only mean more suffering for low-income Brits.

No: Our economy, one of the strongest in the world, is built on the British Empire and on the slave trade. We have never offered reparations for our many atrocities or even formally apologised. It is time to pay up.

Or... Reparations are not the right way to go about what needs to be done. We should focus on collaboration and aid between Caribbean countries and Britain, which points us in the direction of a bright future, not a dark past.

Retribution - A punishment given to somebody who is perceived to have done something wrong.

Imperialism - The practice of growing a country's power through colonisation or force.

Partition - In 1947, the British Raj was split into India and Pakistan.

Servitude - State of being a slave.

Reparations - Providing payment to make amends for a wrongdoing.

Scrutinised - Examined closely.