Authorities on the Caribbean island nation of Barbados are considering seeking compensation from the family.

Cumberbatch himself played a plantation owner in the Oscar-winning film “12 years a slave”. Revelation shows that the story is not far from reality. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the actor’s ancestors owned slave plantations in Barbados.

There were about 250 slaves there from Joshua Cumberbatch who bought the plantation in 1728 until slavery was abolished more than 100 years later, writes The Telegraph.

– All descendants of white plantation owners who profited from the slave trade should be encouraged to pay reparations. Including the Cumberbatch family, said David Denny, Secretary General of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration.

He said the money could go towards local hospitals, schools and infrastructure.

It’s unclear how much of the Cumberbatch family’s money went to the actor. He is the son of actress Wanda Ventham. According to Cumberbatch himself, he asked him not to use that last name in his career because he was afraid he would be sued for damages because of his family history.

Cumberbatch himself said that he regretted his family’s connection to slavery. She has suggested that’s why she took on the role in ‘Amazing Grace’, which is about the abolition of slavery in England.

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