Britain abolished slavery. Now comes the $25 trillion bill.

The protagonist of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel “Lullaby” investigates an ancient African poem so powerful it has the ability to kill anyone who hears it spoken aloud. I’ve never had quite that reaction to a work of literature. There is, however, one word that sends my blood pressure high enough that it may yet finish the job: reparations.

Yes, the West Indies are rattling the change jar again, pursuing reparations from Britain that one prominent estimate puts at £18.8 trillion — roughly six times the U.K.’s annual GDP.

If we are going to do this consistently, North African states might be presented with a bill for the Barbary slave raids on Europeans. Scandinavians can cough up for the Vikings.

Caribbean governments are escalating their campaign to make Britain pay