Drax Hall in Barbados has become a battleground between Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s administration and advocates for reparations. 

So, to really understand this story, you’ll need a bit of background. The Drax Hall Plantation in St George’s, Barbados has been one of the main talking points in Barbados’s fight for reparations for a while now.

The 617 acres of land are owned by a UK Member of Parliament, Sir Richard Drax, who inherited the land from his father. The Draxes’ ownership of the land dates back to slavery days in the 1700s when it was used as a sugar plantation. According to historians, Drax Hall was a “killing field” of enslaved Africans who were brought to the island.

The Drax family also owned a plantation in Jamaica – Drax Hall in St Ann, which is now a rapidly-developing tourist area. That land was sold in the 18th century. The Draxes also reportedly owned at least two ships that brought enslaved Africans to the Caribbean.

Now it’s no secret that Barbados wants Richard Drax to pay for his ancestors’ crimes. Richard Drax is one of the UK’s wealthiest MPs.  He’s reportedly worth around £150 million.  That’s about BD$380 million, or almost 10% of the island’s entire national budget for the year.

One of the main calls by reparations advocates is for Drax to hand over part or all of the land to the Government of Barbados as compensation. 

Enter Barbados’s Tenantries Freehold Purchase Act, established in 1980.  This law allows tenants and residents of plantation tenantries the right to purchase the land that they occupied.

According to the law, the purchase price for the land will be governed by public policy and the Constitution.

So earlier this year, the Government decided to compulsorily acquire 50 acres of the 617 acre plantation. Compulsory acquisition is the power of governments to acquire private land rights for a public purpose, without the willing consent of the landowner.

The Government signalled that they would use the land to develop homes for low-income earners. So, in that case, they didn’t need Drax to agree to sell or give back the land. They could just take it.

The only thing is, the Government announced that they were going to PAY Drax BD$7.5 million, or about £3 million for the 50 acres.

And of course, this sparked widespread backlash. Because how are you gonna use taxpayers’ dollars to compensate the same man we’re tryna get reparations from?

Prime Minister Mia Mottley tried to explain that the payment has nothing to do with the reparations talk. 

But Bajans are still not happy! The backlash has prompted the government to pause the land acquisition so that more discussions can be had with the public.

And that’s the bottom line.