Benedict Cumberbatch has previously acknowledged that part of his family's past includes slave ownership.
It now appears as though the actor and his family may actually have to pay for their role in slavery.
According to a recent report from The Telegraph, the 46-year-old's seventh great-grandfather is responsible for purchasing a plantation in 1728. The report alleges that the Cleland plantation was active for more than 100 years. Furthermore, it reportedly had 250 slaves on the property.
The sugar plantation is located in Barbados. The country is currently in the process of looking for reparations from families whose ancestors were slave owners. Evidently, this includes the Cumberbatch's.
Slavery was abolished nearly 200 years ago, in the 1830s. The reason that the country is seeking these payments is because the families who are responsible for owning slaves were given large payments upon the abolition. "When the plantation was forced to close his family were given £6,000 in compensation - in today's money that's £3.6 million," writes journalist Lorraine King in a tweet.
The Decision
Whether the Dr. Strange actor's family will be responsible for paying up or not is still unknown. It will be up to a challenge that the country is currently awaiting in court. Barbados is asking Richard Dax, the inheritor of the country's largest plantation, Drax Hall, to hand over his family's land.
If he refuses to do so, an international arbitration court will decide whether or not the British Parliament member will be responsible for paying reparations. If it comes to this and the decision is yes, the country will reportedly move forward with seeking payments from other past slave owners. Of course, this will include the Cumberbatch family.
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