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New research has revealed that enslaved Africans were forcibly branded with marks bearing the British Crown emblem, shedding light on the monarchy’s direct involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. This discovery was made as part of the Register of British Slave Traders project, which offers a detailed record of Britain’s role in slavery.
Professor William Pettigrew, who led the research, described these brandings as a “dramatic and harrowing” symbol illustrating how deeply intertwined the monarchy was with the trade in enslaved people. The register documents around 13,000 individuals and hundreds of institutions that invested in Britain’s slave trade from 1563 until 1807, the year the trade was outlawed in the British Empire. Historians involved in the project emphasize that this is the most exhaustive study of a national slave trading community ever completed.
Dr. Nicholas Radburn of Lancaster University, a co-investigator, recounted how he uncovered the branding mark—an image of the British Crown above the South Sea Company logo—during archival research at the British Library in 2022. Established in 1711, the South Sea Company was a British enterprise responsible for trafficking thousands of enslaved Africans. Radburn found detailed instructions in letters from company directors to slave traders operating in the Spanish Americas, which outlined the use of irons imported from England to brand enslaved Africans on their left shoulder with the emblem. This mark served to identify individuals trafficked by the company from others in the region.
In an interview, Pettigrew elaborated on the broader connections between the British monarchy and the slave trade. He pointed out that the institution of the monarchy, as an entity distinct from the individual monarchs, was revitalized in part through investments in the slave trade following the execution of King Charles I in the 17th century. Pettigrew stressed that while the individuals who led the monarchy have changed, the institution itself remains continuous today. Responding to these findings, Buckingham Palace stated that King Charles has “expressed his personal and wholehearted commitment to promoting greater understanding around the issue of slavery and finding ways to address historic wrongs,” and that he appreciates academic efforts contributing to this important conversation.
The register’s findings reveal the extensive range of people who financially supported the slave trade, spanning from royalty and politicians to ordinary citizens such as plumbers and clergy. Pettigrew noted that this investment helped fund wars, advance industry, and build infrastructure like ports and canals, which collectively contributed to Britain’s rise as a global imperial power. The database includes anyone who provided financial backing to either the transatlantic slave trade itself or companies enabling it. The research, conducted over five years, estimates that about three million African individuals were enslaved through England’s participation in the trade, with roughly half a million dying during the brutal journey across the Atlantic.
Calls for reparations and formal apologies from former slave trading nations have been growing, particularly from Caribbean countries. Jamaica’s government announced plans to petition King Charles, its head of state, on the matter. Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s culture minister, explained the petition will request that the King seek answers from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council regarding the legality of the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica. She expressed hope that the process would lead to long-awaited restitution for the historic abuses suffered by African ancestors. Meanwhile, the UK government maintains its stance against paying reparations, though it condemns the transatlantic slave trade as “abhorrent.”
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