[Cicero]

Very true. But England was not considered to be a part of "Europe" until pretty recently.

The Pope and the Church also condemned slavery at an early date. But that didn't persuade most of the European countries, who continued to profit from slave plantations abroad--Portugal, Belgium, France, Germany, and so forth.

The fact that they were behaving hypocritically and knew what they were doing was wrong is well indicated by the fact that the slaves were kept abroad. It was known that they were there, but "out of sight, out of mind."

[motzman]

For most people in the world, if you trace your ancestory far enough back, you will come upon a relative who was a slave or in servitude at some point.

Which makes the reperations issue a moot point.