Sins of the ancestors: Benedict Cumberbatch is required to pay reparations because his family owned slaves

Benedict Cumberbatch's family could be forced to pay reparations to Barbados because his ancestors ran plantations with slaves on the island in the 18th and 19th centuries, reports Dailymail.

Photo: Depositphotos

The actor's seventh great-grandfather bought the Cleland plantation in St. Andrew, Barbados, in 1728.

The plantation held 250 slaves until slavery was abolished over 100 years later.

When the plantation was closed, the Cumberbatch family received £6000 in compensation for the loss of "human property" - in today's money, that's about $4,5 million.

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The British government at the time took out a loan to pay off slave owners across the Empire, which was only repaid in 2015.

The Barbados government is now fighting to ensure that the ancestors of the families of slave owners are paid reparations.

Conservative MP Richard Drax inherited his family's sugar plantation, which was instrumental in developing the sugar trade between the Caribbean and the United States. The 250 hectare Drax Hall plantation is currently in the best location on the resort island.

Drax is under pressure to return the land to the country, and if he refuses, the Barbados government will seek compensation from an international arbitration tribunal. If the judgment is in favor of the island, Drax will be the first descendant of a slave-owning family to be successfully persecuted.

The Secretary General of the Caribbean Peace and Integration Movement told The Telegraph: "All descendants of white plantation owners who benefited from the slave trade should be asked to pay reparations, including the Cumberbatch family."

Denny, a self-proclaimed Barbadian "revolutionary", campaigned for Drax to donate "hundreds of millions" to build schools, roads and health centers in Barbados, among other community projects.

David Commissioning, Barbados' ambassador to the Caribbean Community, also advocates that the Drax and other slave families pay reparations.

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“A lot of this history is just now coming to light,” he said.

Drax traveled to the Caribbean island back in October to meet with island premier Mia Mottley to discuss the future of the former plantation.

It is unknown if the money of Cumberbatch's ancestors helped the Harrow-educated actor.

In 2015, Cumberbatch revealed that his mother, actress Wanda Ventham, urged him not to use his real name for professional purposes, lest he be the target of a new Caribbean campaign to redress or compensate the descendants of slaves.

In 12 Years a Slave, Cumberbatch plays plantation owner William Ford.

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The Oscar-nominated actor first opened up about his family background when he starred in the 2006 abolition film Amazing Ease.

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