A recently published Register of British Slave-Traders has identified 13,000 individuals who invested in and profited from the trafficking of over three million enslaved Africans between 1563 and 1807. The register, exclusively reported in the Guardian, includes a wide range of investors from ordinary citizens to the monarchy.
Among those listed are Queen Elizabeth I and members of her court, who invested in John Hawkins’s 1563 missions. Subsequent monarchs, including James I, Charles I, Charles II, James II, William III, Queen Anne, George I, and George II, were also major investors and directors in state-sponsored companies involved in the trade, such as the Company of Royal Adventurers Trading in Africa and the Royal African Company.
Other notable investors include philosopher John Locke, University of Cambridge benefactor Tobias Rustat, 45 vicars from the Church of England, and 24 directors and governors of the Bank of England. William Pettigrew, the project's lead researcher, stated that slavery was a foundational element in shaping Britain.
While some have expressed surprise at the scale of involvement, scholars in the Caribbean and diaspora have long documented Britain's deep connection to the slave trade. Eric Williams, the Trinidadian scholar and former prime minister, argued 82 years ago that profits from chattel enslavement financed Britain's Industrial Revolution. Joseph Inikori, a Nigerian scholar, has also highlighted these linkages as scaffolding for Britain's industrial advancement.
Caribbean scholars have consistently worked to expose the magnitude of Britain's involvement and its impact across the Caribbean, citing evidence from plantation ledgers, deeds, wills, and ship records. The reception of the Register highlights ongoing questions about the understanding and teaching of Britain's role in chattel slavery.