Centuries-long links between Britain’s central bank and the transatlantic slave trade have been uncovered in new research, revealing that the financial system was deeply complicit in the enslavement of millions of African people.
Historians compiling the Register of British Slave Traders found that the extent of the financial sector’s involvement exceeds prior knowledge and acknowledgment. The investigation highlights that the Bank of England, which was nationalized in 1946 under Prime Minister Clement Attlee’s Labour government, had numerous financiers who were key investors in the trafficking of enslaved Africans among its founding subscribers and directors.
Historians have known fragments of this for years. Does releasing a register actually change policy, or is it just performative accountability?
Does this mean the Bank should offer reparations? Or is it just another history lesson that fades when the news cycle moves on?
I had no idea the Bank’s founding directors were so directly involved. It changes everything about how I view British history.
This is heartbreaking but not surprising. The foundation of modern finance was built on human suffering, and we finally have the proof.