As Guyana commemorates the 200th anniversary of a rebellion by enslaved people that historians say paved the way for abolition, the family of one of Britain’s renowned prime ministers will journey there to apologize for their family’s historical involvement in the slave trade.

Prime minister for four non-consecutive terms in the 19th Century, leading liberal and reformative governments, William Gladstone used his first speech in the House of Commons to argue in favor of compensation for slave owners as abolition loomed closer.

His father, John Gladstone, ended up being the fifth largest recipient of the equivalent of around £16 billion today allocated by the British government following the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.

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