When she’s had more time to consider the case of Sir Charles, I sincerely hope that Ms Trevelyan doesn’t offer money to the Irish in recompense. One duty that we all have is to treat history with respect, as Ms Trevelyan is finding. Our obligations are to the present, and we will be judged in the future not by our repentance for historical deeds over which we had no control, but for our actions now and their legacy to the future. We can do nothing about the past except study and learn from it. Like many before her, Ms Trevelyan has found herself ensnared by our current misunderstanding of our relationship to the past, present and future. The history of international reparations, especially after the First World War, demonstrates that they can have the reverse effect from that intended, prolonging enmity and division. Many will hope that Vladimir Putin’s personal fortune will be used to repair the damage he has wreaked on Ukraine, and the sooner the better.īut would it make sense to blame Russians more generally and demand reparations from a whole people? There may be a case for reparations for victims who are still alive, especially in cases where international norms have been violated with violence and contempt. If we were all to be held responsible for the wicked acts our distant ancestors committed centuries ago, we would all be mired in self-loathing contrition. In what way can he, or the modern monarchy, be held responsible for these past acts? His genetic and family connections to that Stuart king are vanishingly small, and throughout his life he has brought together different races and nationalities. King Charles is the 15th monarch since his namesake, King Charles II, issued the royal charter that established the Royal African Company, which traded in slaves. We cannot be held responsible for the sins of our ancestors. There are no good answers to these questions because almost every exercise in apology and compensation for past wrongs is misconceived. If reparations are to be made, where should they go and how much should they be? Should those of Saxon descent expect to compensate their more Celtic neighbours, or to receive payments from those of Norman ancestry? Where should apologies be directed when the victims of the historical injustice are long dead? Who is to judge when and how reparations are to be made? Ms Trevelyan decided for herself over slavery but now, many Irish voices are raised in judgment of her and her ancestor. Ms Trevelyan has discovered something that many of us knew already once you make one apology, you will have to make more, for in families, as in nations, there is a great deal in the past we now regret. Think of history as a garment: tug at a loose thread in the attempt to tidy it up to your satisfaction, and the whole thing unravels. But history doesn’t work like that: there is always a qualification, a counter-example or another case, like that of Sir Charles Trevelyan, that has been briefly overlooked. Like many others, Ms Trevelyan appears to think it possible to undertake “selective strikes” on the past. Ms Trevelyan is now saying of reparations: “If the Irish government said the Trevelyan family are liable for what Sir Charles Edward did, then of course that would have to be considered.” Now she is under attack because another ancestor, Sir Charles Trevelyan, was the civil servant in charge of relief during the Irish Famine at the end of the 1840s.īelieving that the tragedy was the judgment of God, and following the principle of economic laissez-faire, he did the minimum, and has been accused since of failing the people of Ireland. She overlooked the fact, however, that her large family, distinguished for public service, contained other questionable characters. Having travelled to the Caribbean to apologise for her family’s history, Ms Trevelyan has since challenged the King to follow this example and issue his own apology for slavery. She then announced her departure from the BBC to become a “roving advocate” for reparative justice. Perhaps lacking her great-grandfather’s knowledge and wisdom, she has lurched into historical controversies and is sinking fast.įirst, she told the world that she would make reparations of £100,000 because some other Trevelyan ancestors were slaveholders on the West Indian island of Grenada. Laura Trevelyan, a former BBC presenter, is the descendant of an eminent historian, George Macaulay Trevelyan.
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