The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has recently revealed that his great, great, great grandfather was Sir James Fergusson, an owner of enslaved people at the Rozelle Plantation in St Thomas, Jamaica. This link between Justin Welby and a former slave owner was discovered after Mr Welby looked into his ancestry. This revelation came after he had previously gained knowledge of his biological father in 2016, which was a complete surprise to him at the time – it turns out that the late Sir Anthony Montague Brown was his father, not Gavin Welby who had raised him, as he had originally believed.
Mr Welby has said that his trip to Jamaica had helped him to “confront the legacies of enslavement in the Caribbean” and feels a sense of responsibility towards those who are still grappling with the effects of this evil trade. As he has already mentioned, he believes that the trip was a necessary step for him to come to terms with the idea that he is connected through his great, great, great grandfather to a difficult subject such as the enslavement of people.
The Rozelle plantation had around 200 enslaved people working on it at its height, and the Fergusson family was financially compensated by the British government for the loss of “property” after slavery was abolished, according to the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery. It is clear that the Church has also had to confront its links to this area of history. In January 2023, the Church of England committed to a £100m pledge to “address past wrongs” after its investment fund was found to have historic links to slavery. This move was welcome but the amount was deemed “not enough” by a Church Commissioners charity report earlier in the year.
Justin Welby has thanked those who have carried out research into the history of enslavement and their descendants for their tireless work on this matter. Moreover, he has reiterated his belief that people need to take responsibility to bring this dark chapter of human history to light, no matter how uncomfortable this may be
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