Register Details Britain’s Slave-Trade Investment Network
Register Details Britain’s Slave-Trade Investment Network
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Key Points
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The register identifies more than 100 MPs as investors in slave-trading companies, including members of both the Tory and Whig parties, predecessors of today’s Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties.
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More than 1,000 women invested in British slave-trading companies, highlighting that financial participation extended beyond the predominantly male political and commercial elite.
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The research found that 45 Church of England clergymen invested in the Royal African Company, adding evidence of direct financial participation by clergy rather than solely institutional or ideological support.
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Christopher Puller, one of the 24 Bank of England directors identified as a slave-trade investor, shipped weapons for the trade and co-owned a 1786 voyage from Gambia to Jamaica; he served as a director for 11 years and was also one of the Bank’s governors.
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The Bank of England was nationalised by Clement Attlee’s Labour administration in 1946, meaning the institution implicated in this historical financial network later became state-owned.
A new Register of British Slave Traders reveals the scale of Britain's financial involvement in trafficking more than 3 million enslaved Africans from the 1560s to 1807, naming roughly 10,500 investors across the monarchy, Parliament, banks, and churches Lancaster University. The research directly links at least 24 Bank of England directors to slave-trade investments, including one who shipped weapons and co-owned a 1786 voyage from Gambia to Jamaica The Root.
The findings show how slave-derived wealth flowed into hospitals, schools, and charities—at least 50 donors commemorated at London's St Bartholomew's Hospital had fortunes tied to slavery History Extra. The discovery is prompting institutions to reassess how they remember these figures and intensifying debates over reparations and Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade.
Parliament and Monarchy Built on Slave Wealth
More than 100 MPs invested in slave-trading companies, crossing party lines between Tories and Whigs History Extra. Two of the earliest major investors were King William III and Queen Mary II, whose stakes in the trade helped finance the early Bank of England. The research traces how political power and slave-trade profits became deeply intertwined in shaping Britain's governing institutions.
Women Investors and Church Leaders Profited Quietly
Over 1,000 women invested in British slave-trading companies, a finding that challenges the assumption that only male elites participated Lancaster University. Beyond individual investors, 45 Church of England clergymen held stakes in the Royal African Company, proving direct clergy involvement rather than mere institutional support. These quiet financial ties reveal how slavery became normalized across British society.
Bank of England Directors Shipped Weapons and Captives
Christopher Puller, one of 24 Bank of England directors invested in the slave trade, personally shipped weapons for trafficking operations and co-owned a 1786 voyage carrying captives from Gambia to Jamaica The Root. Puller served as a Bank director for 11 years and also held the position of Bank governor. His case exemplifies how financial institutions and slave traders operated as a single network, with profits flowing directly back into banking operations.
Hospitals and Charities Built on Blood Money
At least 50 major donors commemorated at St Bartholomew's Hospital earned their wealth through slavery, including figures tied to the Royal African Company and the infamous 1694 Hannibal voyage, where hundreds of captives died Lancaster University. Similar patterns appear across London's cultural and charitable institutions. The research now forces these organizations to reckon with how slavery funded their founding and growth.
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