Jamaican descendants of enslaved people

Emancipation Day returns as a national public holiday

📅 1 Ougùstùs 1997

On 1 August 1997, Jamaica reinstated Emancipation Day as a national public holiday, after the observance had been discontinued when independence celebrations replaced it in 1962. Restoring the date...

Cabinet approves a National Commission on Reparations

📅 22 Yanüari 2009

On 22 January 2009, Jamaica’s Cabinet approved the establishment of a National Commission on Reparations. Its remit was to consider proposals seeking reparations from countries involved in the slave...

Jamaica files a petition seeking legal examination of chattel slavery

📅 7 Sèptèmber 2026

On 7 September 2026, the Government of Jamaica filed a petition asking King Charles, as Jamaica’s head of state, to refer legal questions about chattel slavery in Jamaica to the Judicial Committee...