The family of Oscar-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch are reportedly facing the prospect of legal action over their historical links to the slave trade in Barbados.
A senior official from the Caribbean island, which plays a leading role in its national reparations commission, told the Daily Telegraph he was in the ‘early stages’ of efforts to seek damages from ancestors of the Cumberbatch estate.
The diary describes how Joshua Cumberbatch, Benedict Cumberbatch’s seventh great-grandfather, bought the Cleland plantation in the north of the island in 1728.
It housed 250 slaves until the abolition of slavery more than 100 years later.
The decision resulted in the family and other slave operations across the British Empire being compensated by the British government.
Slavery was at the forefront of debate in many Caribbean communities in recent years, largely driven by the rise of Barbados’ decision to become a republic in 2021.
Barbados activists are urging Conservative MP Richard Drax, who inherited a sugar cane plantation on the island that was established with slaves in the 1620s, to return it.
It could be the subject of a claim for compensation in the event of refusal.
Even the royal family faces the prospect of a claim, officials say, although they have stressed there is no sense of blame to be attached to living relatives for the actions of their ancestors.
David Comissiong, deputy chairman of the national reparations commission, told The Daily Telegraph he would like to see the ancestors of slave-owning families paid damages.
When asked directly if it would include the Cumberbatch clan, he replied, “It’s in the early stages. We’re just getting started. A lot of that history is only really coming to light now.”
Benedict Cumberbatch himself has expressed contrition for his own family’s ties to slavery, suggesting that was the reason he took on the role of William Pitt the Younger in the film Amazing Grace which focused on the abolition of trade.
He also won critical acclaim for his starring role as plantation owner William Ford in 12 Years a Slave over a decade ago.
