Should Britain pay up? Commonwealth leaders argue the UK owes them back what it took in resources and labour from African slaves. In Britain, it has struck a very tender nerve.
Row deepens over slavery reparations
Inhumane: This drawing of how slaves were squeezed on board the slave ship 'Brooks' was commissioned by abolitionists who wanted to raise awareness of the horrors of the slave trade. Glossary
Keir Starmer - The leader of the UK Labour Party since 2020 and British prime minister since July 2024.
Samoa - An island country in Polynesia.
Commonwealth - Officially called the Commonwealth of Nations, it was set up in 1926. There are 54 members in all. It grew out of the British Empire and many members, although not all, were former British colonies.
Reparations - Providing payment to make amends for a wrongdoing.
Pandora's box - In Greek mythology, Pandora is given a box by the gods containing all the evils in the world and told not to open it. She, of course, does.
Colonies - Area or countries under the control of another nation.
Robert Jenrick - A British Conservative Party politician.
Brooks - A British slave ship launched at Liverpool in 1781. She became infamous after prints of her were published in 1788.
Industrial Revolution - A period of sudden, rapid industrialisation that transforms a country from an agricultural to an industrial economy.
Abolitionist - Someone who sought to end slavery.
Olaudah Equiano - An 18th Century writer and part of an abolitionist movement of Africans living in Britain. He was taken on a slave ship from Nigeria to the Caribbean as a child before eventually buying his freedom.
Philanthropy - Giving away (lots of) money to help people.
GDP - Short for Gross Domestic Product, the measure of all the goods and services produced inside a country.