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00:14In 1732, the houses of Queen Square, here in the heart of Bristol, were some of the grandest in the
00:21city.
00:34They were home to families who were making their fortunes in the city's boom years.
00:43We know he was living in these houses in 1732 because of the land tax records.
00:49They tell us that this house, number 37, was home to a Matthew Thomas.
00:55He lived there with his wife Elizabeth and their children.
00:58His neighbour here was Widow Raxall, Anne Raxall.
01:04She had just lost her husband, Nathaniel, who died young, aged just 44.
01:10And next to them, at number 35, was a Richard Farr, Jr.
01:16There is now a new place where we can find these same names.
01:22And it is here, the Register of British Slave Traders.
01:33What this tells us is that Matthew Thomas was an investor in two slave trading expeditions that left the port
01:42of Bristol.
01:43Here is the entry for Nathaniel Raxall.
01:47He put his money into four slave trading expeditions.
01:51And Richard Farr was an investor in 20 slave trading voyages that, between them, carried more than 6,000 men,
02:01women and children into slavery.
02:05But it's not just these three houses, and it is not just these three families.
02:12More than half of all the householders listed as living here in 1732 also appear on this Register of Slave
02:22Traders.
02:26The Register is the culmination of one of the biggest and most ambitious studies ever undertaken into Britain's role in
02:35the slave trade.
02:43For five years, a group of historians have searched through thousands of documents in archives across the country and in
02:50the Caribbean,
02:51piecing together a comprehensive picture of who the slave traders were.
02:56And for this series, we've been given exclusive access to their findings.
03:02We began the project with the very clear ambition to do the most comprehensive assessment of all of the British
03:09-based investors in the transatlantic slave trade.
03:12That list now is somewhere around 13,000 people.
03:15We're not talking about a trade that's peripheral, but rather one that's connected to all of the different parts of
03:21the country that involves a huge amount of national wealth and a huge amount of very powerful people.
03:25I was shocked to find this web of connections stretching across the north of Britain that really brings to light
03:32a more endemic feature of slavery.
03:3413,000 individual lives were changed by participation.
03:38With the profit side of the slave trade, 3 million more were fundamentally altered by the desire for profit.
03:46Anyone can now log on and discover who the slave traders were, where they lived, how much money they made,
03:54and the links between modern British companies and institutions and the trade in human beings.
04:02What emerges is a new picture of a trade that was spread further across the country than we might have
04:08imagined,
04:08not just in the slave trading ports like Bristol and Liverpool.
04:16It's also a story that stretches far back into the British past.
04:22Because to find a start date for this history, we need to travel back four and a half centuries.
04:48In the British library is a remarkable relic from the first years of the English slave trade.
04:57The date, here at the top of the page, is 1563, five years into the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
05:10Now, this is a document that is really, really hard to read.
05:14But what it is, as it tells us, is a list of names, the names of the adventurers.
05:21These are the men who, at this moment, are putting their money into a new expedition
05:28that they hope will generate them significant profits.
05:32And some of these names were very well known in the 1560s.
05:37Among them is William Cecil Knight.
05:42This is William Cecil.
05:44He was Queen Elizabeth's principal advisor, arguably the most influential, the most powerful figure
05:52in the whole country after the Queen.
05:55At the top of the list is the Earl of Pembroke.
06:00Here he is in his armour with his coat of arms.
06:04He was a Tudor courtier.
06:06He was a member of the Queen's Privy Council, her cabinet,
06:09and he'd been involved in the Tudor court since the days of Henry VIII.
06:14Below this list of courtiers is another list of names.
06:20And these are the London merchants.
06:22These are the money men.
06:24So we have a William Garrett.
06:27Here he is.
06:29He was a significant London merchant and a former Lord Mayor of London.
06:33Just beneath him is another London merchant, William Chester.
06:39He was also an MP and he had significant links to the court and to Elizabeth.
06:46Now, the Queen's name does not appear in either of these lists,
06:51but she was involved in this expedition.
06:54And that's because she was loaning the expedition one of her ships.
06:58And it's named here the Jesus of Lubeck.
07:02Here is a picture of the Jesus of Lubeck.
07:07And it was a giant 700-ton warship.
07:11It had been bought for the Tudor navy by Henry VIII,
07:15and it had been used in an attempt to salvage,
07:18to raise from the seabed another of Henry's ships, the Mary Rose.
07:23But in 1564, the Jesus of Lubeck was off on this expedition,
07:29financed by these men.
07:43The Queen, William Cecil, and the London merchants
07:47were willing to support this expedition
07:49because it was led by an English adventurer
07:52who just two years earlier had returned from the New World
07:56with an astonishing haul of wealth and treasure.
08:09A portrait of that adventurer is on display here
08:13at the National Maritime Museum.
08:18This is the face of John Hawkins.
08:25John Hawkins was many things.
08:27He was a merchant, he was a brilliant naval commander,
08:31he was a privateer, a state-sanctioned pirate.
08:34But in 1562, he had become something else,
08:39England's first slave trader.
08:42Because that year, he'd sailed to the coast of West Africa.
08:46There, he attacked local settlements and Portuguese slave ships.
08:51He captured 300 Africans and then sailed across the Atlantic
08:56and sold those captives to Spanish plantation owners in the Caribbean.
09:01What he'd demonstrated was that the English could break in
09:06to the Atlantic slave trade,
09:08a trade pioneered and dominated by the Portuguese and the Spanish.
09:18The new expedition that William Cecil and the London merchants had backed
09:23was to be the second slave-trading expedition of John Hawkins.
09:29And the document that lists the names of the investors
09:33contains another list, the victual list,
09:36the supplies to be loaded onto the ships
09:39that were then to set sail for the coast of Africa.
09:43And that list contains some telling details.
09:47Among the supplies were shoes for 500 Negroes
09:53and meat for the Negroes.
09:58The clear purpose and intent of this second expedition
10:03was, like the first, to capture human beings
10:06and carry them across the ocean.
10:20In the last weeks of 1564,
10:23the ships, led by John Hawkins,
10:25will have passed by this coastline here in West Africa.
10:33In the 16th century, ships tried whenever they could to stay within sight of land,
10:38which means that if I'd been standing here back then,
10:41I would have been able to look out and see them as little dots on that horizon.
10:47They headed south and then they turned east.
10:49They were tracing the outline of the African continents.
10:53But, of course, the English hadn't pioneered.
10:56They hadn't invented this trade.
10:57They were just bit players and they were late comers.
11:00But these first early Tudor expeditions,
11:04they were the beginnings of an English and then a British slave trade
11:08that was not to come to an end for another 243 years,
11:14not until 1807, when the British ended the trade
11:17and the last British ships left this coast.
11:30Hawkins headed for the Sierra Leone River,
11:33the target of his earlier expedition.
11:36And there he captured hundreds of Africans
11:40by raiding Portuguese slave traders.
11:43And he and his men also carried out raids on African villages
11:47to capture others.
11:53Crossing the Atlantic, he sold the captives to plantation owners
11:58in the Spanish colonies of South America.
12:02And from there, for the second time,
12:05Hawkins sailed home to England.
12:11The profits from the expedition
12:13shared between Hawkins, the London merchants, and the Queen
12:17were astonishing.
12:20By one estimate, they made a profit of 60%.
12:29One of the sources that allows historians
12:32to calculate those profits are letters written in London
12:36by the Spanish ambassador, Diego Guzman de Silva.
12:41Letters that he dispatched to his master in Madrid,
12:45King Philip II.
12:47De Silva informed the Spanish king
12:49that Hawkins had arrived back in London
12:52with 50,000 gold coins.
12:55Gold that today would be worth 20 million pounds.
13:00And this information was of interest to King Philip
13:04because in the 1560s,
13:06English slave traders had no business
13:08trading in the Spanish Empire in the New World.
13:13How the world had been carved up
13:16and the English excluded
13:17can be seen in one of the great treasures
13:20held by the British Library,
13:22an atlas from the time.
13:27This atlas has a really remarkable backstory.
13:31It really does.
13:32It's known as the Queen Mary Atlas.
13:34So it's Mary Tudor
13:36who marries King Philip II of Spain in 1554.
13:40And this atlas was a wedding gift for Philip.
13:43It's an amazing object about a moment
13:46that England nearly becomes part of the Spanish Empire.
13:50And we can see this by looking at this map here,
13:53which is the spread of Western Europe.
13:55This is the British Isles.
13:56This is the British Isles.
13:57And what's interesting is this coat of arms.
13:59You have England on the right,
14:01but look on the left.
14:02That should be Spain.
14:03It's been defaced.
14:05We think it could actually be Elizabeth I
14:08who inherits this atlas.
14:10And she is now running a Protestant country.
14:13And she says,
14:14this is not the image I want.
14:16Let's just scratch that out.
14:18I love the idea of the Virgin Queen,
14:20of Gloriana,
14:21with all of that dignity from those portraits,
14:24scratching out the Spanish flag.
14:26Getting really angry.
14:28This page shows South America
14:30and, up here, the Caribbean.
14:33Don't forget,
14:34this is representing the world
14:36as Philip II wants to see it.
14:37So you can see Cortes and the conquistadors
14:40taking this area
14:41with the Spanish flags up here
14:43moving up into the Caribbean.
14:47The atlas also shows Africa.
14:49Let's look at that page.
14:50What you've got here
14:51is the shape of West Africa
14:53running down into sub-Saharan Africa
14:55and the Cape of Good Hope.
14:56And then on the left-hand side,
14:58in the West,
14:59you can see South America.
15:01So in 1494,
15:02the globe has kind of been carved up
15:04between Spain and Portugal.
15:06The Treaty of Tordesillas
15:06draws a line down the Atlantic
15:08and says everything to the West, Spanish,
15:10everything to the East, Portuguese.
15:11So all these Portuguese flags
15:13all the way down.
15:14So when Hawkins is off the coast of Africa
15:17capturing enslaved Africans,
15:19he is breaking into a Portuguese zone.
15:21And when he sells them in the New World,
15:23he's breaking into the Spanish Empire.
15:25Hawkins is an absolute chancer.
15:28He is really playing hit and run
15:29with the Spanish and the Portuguese.
15:32But Hawkins has already demonstrated
15:34that the profits of the slave trade
15:36are so enormous
15:37that Elizabeth is willing
15:40to throw the dice on this.
15:42England is a tiny, tiny bit player
15:44at this point,
15:45trying to break in
15:46to a global empire
15:49of the world
15:50which is predominantly shaped
15:52by what Spain
15:53and the Portuguese empires are doing.
15:55So any way in which
15:56you can enrich your crown,
15:58if you have to do that quietly
16:00by supporting people like Hawkins
16:02and saying,
16:02if it goes wrong,
16:03I claim no connection to it,
16:05but if it goes well,
16:06I'll take the money,
16:07thank you very much.
16:08That's part of the gamble.
16:09It's part of keeping
16:11this tiny little Protestant state going.
16:14So yes, you'd invest in slaves.
16:16Yes, you'd invest in this kind of
16:17very, very dangerous political game.
16:20But there's no sense of a morality here.
16:23That's what's so awful about this.
16:25You look at something
16:26as beautiful as this atlas.
16:27But what underlies this
16:30is something really very dark,
16:32very sinister
16:32about the movement of people
16:34and the enslavement of people
16:35across this space.
16:43Having generated
16:44such vast profits
16:46for the most powerful people
16:48in the land,
16:48it was perhaps inevitable
16:50that in 1567,
16:52Hawkins would set sail again
16:55on a third expedition.
16:59Again with the royal warship,
17:01the Jesus of Lubeck,
17:03among the six ships
17:04in his fleet.
17:08A critical document
17:10that tells us
17:11what happened
17:12to that expedition
17:13has survived.
17:16This is not a list of investors
17:19and it is not a list of profits.
17:21It is a letter
17:22that's held here
17:23at the National Archives.
17:25It is signed,
17:26John Hawkins,
17:28and it is dated
17:28the 25th day
17:30of January,
17:331568.
17:35Hawkins was writing
17:36to William Cecil,
17:38Queen Elizabeth's
17:39great counsellor.
17:40And what he's describing
17:41to Cecil
17:42is a disaster.
17:44He explains
17:45that of the six ships
17:47that he'd left England with,
17:48he had arrived
17:49in Cornwall
17:51at a place called
17:52Mounts Bay
17:53only with the minion,
17:55left of all our fleet.
17:57Among the English ships
17:58lost was the Jesus of Lubeck,
18:01Queen Elizabeth's own ship.
18:03And Hawkins goes on
18:05to explain
18:05the nature
18:06of this disaster.
18:08If I should write
18:10of all our calamities,
18:11I am sure
18:12a volume as great
18:14as the Bible
18:15would scarcely suffice.
18:17He goes on to explain
18:19that the voyage
18:19had been successful.
18:21They had reached
18:22the coast of West Africa.
18:23There,
18:24they had captured
18:25hundreds of Africans
18:26by working alongside
18:28a local African leader.
18:29They then crossed
18:31the Atlantic
18:31and sold hundreds
18:32of those captives
18:33to Spanish plantation owners
18:35in the New World.
18:37But a great part
18:38of our treasure,
18:40merchandise,
18:41shipping,
18:42and men
18:42were devoured
18:43by the treason
18:45of the Spaniards.
18:47The English ships
18:48had been in a harbour
18:49in Mexico
18:50when a Spanish fleet
18:52had arrived.
18:53At first,
18:54they'd agreed a truce,
18:55but the Spanish
18:56had reneged
18:57on that deal
18:57and they'd attacked
18:58the English ships.
19:00What followed
19:01was,
19:01as Hawkins says here,
19:03a calamity.
19:11The database,
19:13built by the researchers,
19:14tells us
19:15what happened next
19:16after the disaster
19:18of the third
19:19Hawkins expedition.
19:22The database
19:23lists the expeditions
19:24of John Hawkins
19:25and it lists
19:26all of the ships
19:27he used.
19:28But what follows
19:29is not another list
19:31of further,
19:32later Tudor
19:33slave trading expeditions
19:34because there are none
19:36for the rest
19:36of the 16th century.
19:38There are none
19:38during the rest
19:39of the reign
19:40of Queen Elizabeth I.
19:42Because after
19:43the disaster
19:44of the final
19:45Hawkins expedition,
19:47the English slave trade
19:48came to a halt.
19:51But through the decades
19:53that followed,
19:54the trade
19:55in enslaved Africans
19:56to the European colonies
19:58of the Caribbean
19:59and the Americas
20:00continued
20:01without the English.
20:03Historians have identified
20:051,679 voyages
20:08dispatched
20:09to the coast of Africa
20:11during those decades
20:12by the European rivals
20:14of England.
20:16Between them,
20:18those expeditions
20:19transported around
20:21half a million people
20:22to lives of slavery.
20:25But around
20:26100,000 Africans
20:28never reached
20:29their destinations.
20:31They died
20:32in the infamous
20:33Middle Passage.
20:42The English,
20:44although excluded
20:45from the slave trade,
20:47remained,
20:47like other Europeans,
20:49fascinated
20:50by Africa,
20:51a continent
20:52believed to possess
20:53extraordinary wealth,
20:55a place with which
20:56Europeans might trade
20:58for gold
20:59and ivory.
21:05It was in the hope
21:07of winning access
21:08to those trades
21:09that in 1618,
21:11Queen Elizabeth's successor,
21:13James I,
21:14the new Stuart King
21:15of England,
21:16established
21:17a trading company,
21:18the Company
21:19of Adventurers of London
21:21Trading to the Ports of Africa.
21:26And the focus
21:27of the new company's attention
21:29was one of Africa's
21:30many rivers,
21:31the Gambia River,
21:33in the far west
21:34of the continent.
21:37And a series
21:39of small,
21:40modest
21:41English expeditions
21:42were sent here.
21:43One arrived
21:44in the year 1620.
21:50On board
21:51that expedition
21:51was a man
21:52called Richard Jobson,
21:53and his role
21:54was to discover
21:55the fate
21:56of an earlier expedition,
21:57to explore the river,
21:59and, if he could,
22:00to trade
22:01with the local
22:02African people,
22:03exchanging goods
22:04brought from England,
22:05ideally for gold.
22:06And when he returned
22:08home to England,
22:09Jobson wrote a book,
22:10an account of his time
22:12on this river.
22:13It is called
22:14The Golden Trade,
22:15or A Discovery
22:17of the River Gambra
22:18and the Golden Trade
22:19of the Ethiopians.
22:21Ethiopians
22:22was just a general term
22:23for all Africans
22:24for all Africans back
22:25in the 17th century.
22:27Now, in this book,
22:28Jobson describes
22:29the potential
22:30of the gold trade
22:31on this river,
22:32but he also describes
22:33being a witness
22:34to another trade
22:35that was being conducted
22:36right here,
22:37the trade
22:38in slaves,
22:40a trade between
22:40local African traders
22:42and other
22:42European merchants.
22:44in the book,
22:46he describes
22:47feeling the presence
22:49of the slave trade
22:50almost immediately
22:51upon entering
22:52this river.
22:53He writes
22:54that the people
22:55who are inhabiting
22:56or dwelling
22:57in the mouth
22:58of the river
22:59or within certain leagues
23:01of the first entrance,
23:02so very close
23:03to where I am now,
23:05that those people
23:06were very fearful
23:07to speak with any shipping.
23:09And this was because
23:10they have been
23:12many times
23:13by several nations
23:14surprised,
23:16taken,
23:16and carried away,
23:18carried away
23:19into slavery.
23:20There's a passage
23:22later in the book
23:23where Jobson
23:24describes his encounter
23:26with the local
23:27African slave trader
23:28Buko Sano.
23:29And he writes
23:30about a moment
23:31when Sano
23:32showed unto me
23:34certain young
23:35black women
23:36who were standing
23:37by themselves.
23:38which he told me
23:40were slaves
23:41brought for me
23:43to buy.
23:44And Jobson's
23:46response to that
23:47offer
23:47is really interesting.
23:49This is what he writes.
23:51We were a people
23:52who did not deal
23:53in any such commodities.
23:56Neither did we buy
23:57or sell
23:58one another
23:59or any
24:00that had our own shapes.
24:03Sano responds
24:03by saying
24:04that slaves
24:05were the only
24:06merchandise
24:06they carried down
24:07into the country
24:08and that they
24:09were sold there
24:10to white men
24:11who earnestly
24:13desired them.
24:14And Jobson
24:15says that those
24:16other white men
24:17were another
24:18kind of people
24:19different from us,
24:22different from the English.
24:25We don't know
24:27how representative
24:28the views
24:29of Richard Jobson
24:30were in the England
24:31of the 1620s
24:33of the 1620s
24:33in the reign
24:34of King James I,
24:36half a century
24:37after the last
24:38of the Tudor
24:39slave trading expeditions.
24:41Was Jobson
24:43speaking for himself
24:44or was he
24:45describing attitudes
24:46that were widespread?
24:48And what did
24:49the English think
24:51of the wealth
24:52being generated
24:53by the trade
24:54and by slavery
24:55in the empires
24:56of Spain
24:57and Portugal?
24:59What we do know
25:00is that even
25:01while Jobson
25:02was rejecting
25:03the advances
25:04of an African
25:05slave trader
25:06on the Gambia River,
25:08what was happening
25:08in the Caribbean
25:09was about
25:10to draw the English
25:12back into the trade
25:14in human beings.
25:17It was in the 1620s
25:19that England
25:20took control
25:21of new colonies
25:22in the Caribbean,
25:23the islands
25:24of St Kitts,
25:25Nevis,
25:26and most importantly,
25:28Barbados.
25:29And it was on Barbados
25:30that an economic
25:32revolution began
25:33when the island
25:34was turned over
25:35to sugar cultivation,
25:37sparking a boom.
25:39By the 1640s,
25:41the demand for labour
25:42to work
25:43the sugar cane fields
25:44was so urgent
25:45that there was
25:46a slow
25:47and tentative
25:48revival
25:49of the English
25:50slave trade.
25:53That revival
25:54can be seen
25:55in the data
25:56gathered by
25:57the historians
25:58who have built
25:58the new register
26:00of British slave traders.
26:02The names
26:03of English ships
26:04along with the names
26:05of their investors
26:06appear on the database
26:08for the first time
26:09since the calamity
26:10of the last expedition
26:11of John Hawkins.
26:14The Voyage of the Star
26:15in 1640 to 1641
26:16is the first voyage
26:17that we know of
26:18which is organised
26:18directly in England
26:19and almost 300 captives
26:22are trafficked.
26:23One individual
26:24in particular,
26:24John Wood,
26:25stands out
26:26as a prominent
26:26investor here
26:27and he appears
26:28in the London port books
26:29in 1640.
26:31He's assembling
26:32trade goods
26:33such as linen,
26:34iron,
26:35Sheffield knives.
26:36He's dispatching
26:37this venture
26:38to West Africa
26:39to trade for captives.
26:40The intensification
26:41of the English
26:42slave trade
26:43in the 1640s
26:44really happens
26:44in the middle
26:45of that decade.
26:46There are 11 voyages
26:47for 1644
26:49and 12 for 1645
26:50and at that moment
26:52in time
26:52the English Civil War
26:53is raging.
26:54A traumatic moment
26:55in the history
26:56of the nation.
26:57I mean it would seem
26:58more natural
26:59that a trade
27:00would kind of collapse
27:01during, you know,
27:02with such a kind of rupture.
27:04I think it's surprising
27:05that the trade
27:06continues during
27:06the Civil War.
27:08Yes, you know
27:08if there was a moment
27:09for people to step away
27:10from a risky
27:11experimental business
27:13it was during a moment
27:14of domestic catastrophe.
27:16But actually
27:16what we find here
27:17is the importance
27:18of prioritising
27:19the expansion
27:20of the violent
27:22transportation
27:22of enslaved
27:23African people.
27:24The defeat
27:26of the royalists,
27:27the execution
27:28of King Charles I
27:29and the emergence
27:30of a new
27:31English republic
27:32led by Oliver Cromwell
27:34was not the end
27:35of the conflict.
27:39The heirs
27:40to the Stuart throne
27:41thus,
27:42Prince Charles
27:43and Prince James
27:44fled into exile.
27:51But the royalist struggle
27:53against Cromwell
27:54continued at sea
27:56with the formation
27:57of a royalist navy.
28:00A force that was led
28:01by a man
28:02who was to play
28:03an unexpected role
28:04in the next stage
28:06of the English slave trade.
28:10His portrait
28:11is on display
28:12in the Queen's House
28:14in Greenwich.
28:17This is Prince Rupert,
28:19the first Duke of Cumberland
28:21and Count Palatine
28:22of the Rhine.
28:23But he was also
28:24the nephew
28:25of the executed king,
28:27Charles I.
28:28And he was
28:29the cousin
28:30of two future kings,
28:32Charles II
28:33and James II.
28:34And Rupert
28:35was just about
28:36the most feared
28:37and the most infamous
28:38military commander
28:40from the age
28:41of the Civil Wars.
28:42And it was under Rupert
28:44that the royalist navy
28:45set out
28:46to attack the ships
28:47of Oliver Cromwell's England
28:49in the Caribbean
28:50and across the Atlantic.
28:52And in 1652,
28:54Rupert took
28:55his royalist fleet
28:57up a river
28:58on the west coast
28:59of Africa.
29:08The river
29:10Rupert arrived in
29:11was the same river
29:12that 30 years earlier
29:14Richard Jobson
29:15had sailed up
29:16and been shocked
29:17to be offered
29:18Africans
29:19being sold
29:20as slaves.
29:24And three decades later,
29:26the trades
29:27in slaves
29:27and in African gold
29:29were still being conducted
29:31on these waterways.
29:40Prince Rupert
29:41sailed his ships
29:43far upriver
29:44and he saw
29:45just how deep
29:46into the continent
29:47this river extends.
29:49He may well have
29:50heard the stories,
29:52the legends
29:52that somewhere
29:53at the end
29:54of this river
29:54lay ancient gold mines.
29:57And he may well have seen
29:58how the trade-in gold
30:00and slaves
30:00operated on this river,
30:02the partnerships
30:03between European merchants
30:05and African traders.
30:07And so,
30:08Prince Rupert,
30:09the cousin
30:10to two future
30:11English kings,
30:12had seen
30:13with his own eyes
30:14the economic potential
30:16of this part
30:17of the African continent.
30:22Eight years
30:23after Prince Rupert
30:24had sailed up
30:25the Gambia River,
30:26his fortunes
30:27and those
30:28of the House of Stuart
30:29were transformed.
30:39In 1660,
30:41Charles Stuart,
30:42along with his brother,
30:43James the Duke of York,
30:45left their comfortable exile
30:46in France
30:47and returned to England,
30:48where Charles became
30:50King Charles II.
30:52The following year,
30:54he was crowned
30:55in a lavish ceremony
30:56here at Westminster Abbey.
31:03The coronation
31:05of 1661,
31:07of course,
31:08followed the traditions
31:09of the past.
31:10But many of the objects
31:12at the centre
31:13of this ancient ceremony
31:15were newly created.
31:17And that was because,
31:18back in 1649,
31:20the crown jewels
31:22of England
31:22had been melted down
31:24on the orders
31:25of Oliver Cromwell.
31:26So, new jewels,
31:28including a new crown,
31:30had been commissioned
31:30at enormous expense.
31:34Those crown jewels,
31:36created for the coronation
31:38of Charles II,
31:39have,
31:40in the centuries
31:40that followed,
31:41been used repeatedly
31:43in the coronations
31:44of British kings
31:45and queens.
31:47The ceremony
31:49that took place
31:50right here
31:51was a masterpiece
31:52of political theatre.
31:55It used expense
31:56and pageantry
31:57and glamour
31:58to paper over
32:00the cracks
32:00of a nation
32:01still deeply scarred
32:03by the wounds
32:04of the Civil War
32:05and the Republican era
32:06under Cromwell.
32:08It also helped
32:09to camouflage
32:10the fact
32:11that the English state
32:12was deeply in debt.
32:15And yet,
32:16despite all
32:17of the spectacle
32:18and the pageantry,
32:19despite the unquestioned
32:21enthusiasm
32:22for the new regime,
32:24the Stuart monarchy
32:25was in need
32:26of new projects,
32:28new trades
32:28and new institutions
32:30that would help it
32:31to rebuild
32:32its own fortunes,
32:33to firmly reestablish
32:35the institution
32:36of monarchy
32:37and to help it
32:39expand the economy
32:40of England.
32:51William Pettigrew,
32:53who has led
32:53the new research project,
32:55has searched
32:56through the archives
32:57to uncover
32:58where the restored
32:59monarchs of England
33:00invested their wealth
33:02and directed
33:03their attentions.
33:05They were seeking
33:06to offer reassurance
33:08to a divided nation,
33:09which the Republican period
33:10had singularly failed to do.
33:13So they're looking
33:14for various different
33:14new directions
33:15they can take the country
33:16to bring people together.
33:19And what sort of trades,
33:20what sort of institutions
33:22do they invest in?
33:23One of them
33:24is the royal fisheries.
33:26They're also interested
33:27in developing
33:28a state-sponsored management
33:31of what was understood
33:33at the time
33:33to be a cutting-edge
33:34new trade,
33:36the trade
33:36in enslaved African people.
33:37So this trade
33:39that had developed
33:40from the 1640s
33:41privately,
33:42the states,
33:43the monarchy,
33:44now want to take
33:45control of it.
33:46That's right.
33:46By the time
33:47you get to 1663,
33:48they charter
33:49a joint stock
33:51monopoly company.
33:52It's the company
33:53of Royal Adventure
33:54that's trading
33:54into Africa
33:55because at that point
33:56the city of London
33:57becomes very involved.
33:59How long
33:59is the charter
34:00given to this company?
34:01The monopoly
34:02described by the charter
34:03is meant to last
34:05for a thousand years.
34:06A thousand years?
34:07And the monopoly
34:08is key
34:08because the monopoly
34:09says that
34:09if you're going
34:10to risk your capital,
34:11put your money
34:12into this venture,
34:13you're the only company
34:15allowed to embark
34:16in this trade
34:17so you won't face competition.
34:18So it kind of skews
34:20the risk,
34:20it makes it
34:20a better investment.
34:22Exactly.
34:22The monopoly
34:23is kind of meaningless
34:24without the means
34:26to enforce it.
34:27So the apparatus
34:28of the states,
34:29the law,
34:29but also the Royal Navy
34:31which is developing
34:32around this time,
34:33that can be deployed
34:34in defence
34:35of this one company's
34:36right to engage
34:38in the slave trade.
34:38Yeah, so in that sense
34:39it's a project
34:40that receives
34:41sort of unrivaled
34:42state backing.
34:43It's clear evidence
34:44of the extent
34:46of the steward's
34:47determination
34:48to lead this business,
34:49this traffic
34:50in particular.
34:52What knowledge
34:53or experience
34:54of the trade
34:55with Africa
34:55is there
34:56within this elite
34:57around the court
34:58and the royal family?
34:59Not much.
35:00There is one exception
35:01to that though.
35:02Prince Rupert of the Rhine.
35:03This is somebody
35:05who'd actually
35:06had direct experience
35:07of being in West Africa.
35:09That was pretty unusual
35:10for members
35:12of the royal families
35:13of Europe.
35:14This was his trip
35:14up the Gambia River
35:16which was just
35:16a few years early.
35:17That's right.
35:18Where he saw
35:18and was excited by
35:20not only the possibility
35:21of gold mining
35:22but also he's observing
35:24the slave trade.
35:27He's among
35:28the initial list
35:28of investors
35:29so it's pretty clear
35:31that Rupert
35:32is a prime mover
35:33in the whole organisation
35:34if not
35:35the inspiration for it.
35:38So King Charles II
35:40and the institution
35:41of monarchy around him
35:42they see this trade
35:44as modern
35:45as the future.
35:47It's clearly
35:48meant to be
35:49a forward-looking
35:51collaboration
35:52between factions
35:54within the political nation
35:56who had been
35:56killing each other
35:57only years before.
35:59It becomes
36:00a kind of
36:01a vehicle
36:02for reconciliation.
36:03So the slave trade
36:04becomes a place
36:05where the wounds
36:06of the past
36:07could be healed.
36:07That looks
36:08like an important
36:10part of the agenda here.
36:18The company
36:19of royal adventurers
36:20trading into Africa
36:22with the wealth
36:23and the power
36:23of the monarch,
36:24the court
36:25and the London merchants
36:27behind it
36:27doubled the number
36:29of English ships
36:30carrying enslaved people
36:32to the plantations
36:33of the growing
36:34English empire
36:36in the Caribbean.
36:38And the monopoly
36:40ensured
36:40that it was
36:41the only company
36:42permitted
36:43to engage
36:44in the trades
36:45in African gold
36:46and African humanity.
36:55although the monopoly
36:57had been granted
36:58in the name
36:58of King Charles II
37:00it was his brother
37:01James the Duke of York
37:03the future
37:04King James II
37:05who was most
37:06directly involved
37:07in the operation
37:09of the company
37:10and company records
37:11reveal
37:12just how involved.
37:14These are scans
37:16from the minute book
37:17of the company
37:18of royal adventurers
37:19trading to Africa.
37:20This is the official record
37:22of company meetings
37:24and it tells us
37:25all the decisions
37:26that were made
37:27at each meeting
37:28and it tells us
37:29who was in attendance.
37:31So these are members
37:32of the company's court
37:34the committee board
37:35that runs the company
37:36and at the top
37:37it tells us
37:38that the governor
37:39was also in attendance
37:41and that the name
37:42of the governor
37:42was the Duke of York.
37:45This meeting is held
37:47on the 19th of August
37:501664.
37:51The next meeting
37:52was held
37:53on the 26th of August
37:54and again
37:55the governor
37:56James the Duke of York
37:57was also in attendance.
38:00There's a meeting
38:01also here
38:02on the 12th of September
38:03and in that meeting
38:05James has himself
38:06written in
38:07he writes
38:07I will add
38:09to my stock
38:10£2,000
38:11and he signs
38:12James
38:13so he is increasing
38:14his personal investment
38:16in this company
38:17by £2,000.
38:19So week after week
38:22meeting after meeting
38:23James is present.
38:25Sometimes
38:25he's listed
38:26not just as governor
38:28but as
38:28his royal highness
38:30the governor
38:31and we know
38:32that some of these meetings
38:33were actually held
38:34in James'
38:35private apartments
38:37in Whitehall Palace
38:38then the London residence
38:40of the English monarch
38:41and that's because
38:43James' role
38:44in these
38:45monopoly companies
38:46of the 1660s
38:48and into the 1670s
38:49it wasn't ceremonial
38:51he wasn't just
38:52a bigger head
38:53he was personally
38:54financially invested
38:56in these companies
38:57and he was
38:58at the centre
38:59of decision making
39:00as they expanded
39:01England's role
39:02in the Atlantic slave trade.
39:09with its finances
39:11in place
39:11and its shareholders
39:13drawn from the elite
39:14and the London merchants
39:19the company
39:20took control
39:21of outposts
39:22on the coast
39:23of West Africa
39:26including here
39:28an island
39:30in the Gambia River.
39:34a fortress
39:35that had once
39:36belonged
39:36to the Dutch
39:38all that is left
39:40today
39:40are ruins.
39:45The very act
39:47of seizing this island
39:48of building defences
39:50of bringing cannon here
39:51of basing agents
39:53and traders
39:53within its walls
39:54all of that
39:55spoke to the commitment
39:57of the company
39:57to the African trade
39:59the trade in gold
40:00and other commodities
40:01but also the trade
40:03in human beings.
40:05And this tiny island
40:07in this huge
40:08African river
40:09it feels
40:10about as far
40:11from England
40:11as you can get
40:13and yet
40:13it was what happened
40:15here
40:15and in other forts
40:16along the coast
40:17of Africa
40:18upon which
40:19the fortunes
40:20of the company
40:21but also
40:21of its wealthy
40:23its aristocratic
40:24and its royal investors
40:25now depended.
40:29The company's fort
40:31on the Gambia River
40:32was renamed
40:33Fort James
40:34after James
40:35Duke of York
40:36and from bases
40:37like this
40:38the company
40:39was able
40:39to ensure
40:40that its investors
40:41did well
40:42from the slave trade
40:43by supplying
40:44the plantation owners
40:46on the islands
40:47of the Caribbean
40:48with the slave labor
40:49they demanded.
40:56In 1672
40:57the company
40:58was given
40:59a new charter
40:59and a new name
41:01it became
41:02the Royal African Company
41:03of England
41:04still operating
41:05from the same forts
41:07on the African coast
41:08and still
41:09with James
41:10Duke of York
41:11as its governor
41:12and a lead investor.
41:20as the company
41:21expanded
41:22it began
41:23to attract
41:24new investors
41:27most of the people
41:28whose names
41:29appear
41:29in the share
41:30transfer books
41:31of the Royal African Company
41:33as the buyers
41:34or the sellers
41:35of company shares
41:36have long
41:37been forgotten
41:40but one of them
41:42in recent years
41:43has been dragged out
41:44of the historical shadows
41:46and become
41:47infamous
41:48today
41:48in the 21st century
41:50although
41:51his role
41:52in the slave trade
41:53is misunderstood.
41:57Not that long ago
41:58very few people
42:00outside of Bristol
42:01had ever heard
42:02of this guy
42:03Edward Colstum
42:04he is famous
42:05today
42:06because of this
42:07Victorian statue
42:08of him
42:09that was toppled
42:10back in 2020
42:11and this is where
42:13it now lies
42:14it's in one of Bristol's museums
42:15and it is
42:16still covered
42:17in graffiti
42:18and there is
42:19red paint
42:21painted onto his hands
42:22to signify
42:24that he has
42:25blood on his hands
42:26but what
42:28many people
42:29didn't get
42:29back in 2020
42:30when this statue
42:31became famous
42:32is that Edward Colston
42:34was not
42:35a Bristol
42:36slave trader
42:37he was
42:38born in Bristol
42:39and he gave
42:39lots of money
42:40to the city
42:41of Bristol
42:42but Colston
42:43was a London
42:44slave trader
42:45he was
42:46an investor
42:47in and for a while
42:48he was the deputy
42:49governor
42:49of the Royal
42:50African Company
42:52and during
42:53his years
42:54involved in the company
42:55it transported
42:56around
42:5770,000
42:58men
42:59women
43:00and children
43:00into slavery
43:06Edward Colston
43:08from a wealthy
43:09Bristol family
43:10was one of the
43:11Royal African Company's
43:12major investors
43:14and his name
43:15appears repeatedly
43:16in the company
43:17minute books
43:18recording his
43:19attendance
43:19at company meetings
43:21but the share
43:22transfer books
43:23of the Royal
43:24African Company
43:25from the 1680s
43:26show that the
43:28possibility
43:28of investing
43:29in the slave trade
43:30had began
43:31to come within
43:32the reach of people
43:33from outside
43:34the elite
43:35and beyond
43:36the networks
43:36of the London
43:37merchants
43:38Lila O'Leary
43:40Chambers
43:41a member
43:41of the research
43:42team
43:43has trawled
43:44through thousands
43:45of pages
43:45of company
43:46accounts
43:47to discover
43:47who these
43:49new investors
43:50were
43:51these
43:52ledgers
43:52tell us
43:52who was
43:53buying
43:53and selling
43:54shares
43:54in the
43:55Royal
43:55African Company
43:55this is
43:56from 1687
43:58and it's
43:59one of a
43:59series
44:00of dozens
44:00of ledgers
44:01each volume
44:02will have
44:03hundreds of
44:03people contained
44:04within it
44:04what sort
44:05of people
44:05are investing
44:06in the
44:06Royal
44:06African Company
44:07we're now
44:08expanding
44:09into the
44:10city of London
44:10more generally
44:11and we see
44:12merchants
44:12we see
44:13people that
44:14have memberships
44:15in the guilds
44:16and we see
44:16both men
44:16and women
44:17investing
44:17so are
44:18some of
44:18these people
44:19what we
44:19would today
44:20think
44:20of
44:20a sort
44:21of
44:21middle
44:21class
44:22certainly
44:22at the
44:23upper
44:23portion
44:23of
44:24the
44:24middle
44:24class
44:24they
44:25may
44:25or
44:25may
44:25not
44:25own
44:26landed
44:26property
44:27but they
44:28have
44:28capital
44:28that they
44:29can use
44:29to invest
44:31so it is
44:32in a way
44:33becoming more
44:34democratized
44:34there is more
44:35people
44:35from lower
44:37down
44:37still in the
44:38top
44:39but the
44:39kind of
44:40lower part
44:40of the
44:41top
44:41of society
44:41who can
44:42afford
44:42to invest
44:43in the
44:44trade
44:44and who
44:44want to
44:44invest
44:45in the
44:45trade
44:45yes
44:45and I
44:46think
44:46the
44:46important
44:47thing
44:47to know
44:47about
44:47these
44:47shares
44:50economic
44:50value
44:50they
44:51also
44:51come
44:52with
44:52a
44:53bigger
44:53say
44:53in
44:53the
44:53functioning
44:54of
44:54the
44:54company
44:54here
44:55we
44:56see
44:56one
44:56investor
44:57named
44:57Peter
44:57Paravancini
44:58who was
44:59actually
44:59born in
45:00Italy
45:00and then
45:01came to
45:02England
45:03he described
45:03himself at
45:04that point
45:04as a
45:05poor lad
45:05and he
45:06used
45:06a
45:07combination
45:07of
45:08apprenticeship
45:09to a
45:09merchant
45:09tailor
45:10and
45:10investment
45:11in
45:11corporations
45:12like
45:12the
45:12Royal
45:12African
45:13Company
45:13to
45:14build
45:14himself
45:14in
45:15both
45:15financial
45:15and
45:15political
45:16stature
45:16and
45:17by
45:181683
45:18he
45:19was
45:19actually
45:19London
45:20Alderman
45:20so
45:21you
45:21can
45:21see
45:21that
45:22he's
45:22really
45:22enmeshed
45:22himself
45:23in
45:23the
45:23he is
45:23in
45:231687
45:24and
45:25he's
45:25selling
45:26500
45:27pounds
45:28worth
45:28of
45:28stock
45:29in
45:30the
45:30Royal
45:30African
45:31Company
45:31and
45:32500
45:32pounds
45:32in
45:331687
45:33is
45:34a
45:34considerable
45:34amount
45:35of
45:35money
45:35so
45:36this
45:36has
45:37been
45:37part
45:38investing
45:38in
45:38the
45:38company
45:39investing
45:39in
45:39the
45:39slave
45:40trade
45:40has
45:40been
45:40part
45:40of
45:41a
45:41story
45:42for
45:42this
45:43investor
45:43of
45:43social
45:44mobility
45:44exactly
45:45yes
45:46and I
45:46think
45:46the
45:49you
45:49actually
45:50see
45:50the
45:50signatures
45:50so
45:51you
45:51can
45:51kind
45:51of
45:51get
45:52a
45:52sense
45:52of
45:53a
45:53little
45:53bit
45:53of
45:53how
45:54they
45:54viewed
45:54themselves
45:54and
45:54how
45:55they
45:55wanted
45:55to
45:55leave
45:55their
45:55mark
45:56it's
45:56got
45:56a
45:56dramatic
45:57signature
45:57with a
45:58big
45:58flourish
45:58it
45:59is
45:59yes
45:59yeah
46:01as
46:01well
46:01as
46:02in
46:02this
46:02ledger
46:02seeing
46:03people
46:03who
46:03are
46:03from
46:04lower
46:04down
46:04the
46:04social
46:05that
46:05a
46:06lot
46:06of
46:06women
46:07named
46:07as
46:07investors
46:08that's
46:09a
46:09really
46:09important
46:09part
46:10of
46:10the
46:10story
46:10of
46:10the
46:10royal
46:11african
46:11company
46:11corporate
46:12structures
46:13allowed
46:14women
46:14to
46:15get
46:15a
46:15foot
46:15in
46:15the
46:15door
46:16in
46:16different
46:17types
46:17of
46:18financial
46:18ventures
46:18the
46:19Atlantic
46:19slave
46:19trade
46:20being
46:20an
46:20important
46:20one
46:20and
46:21we
46:21have
46:21an
46:21example
46:22here
46:22of
46:22Susanna
46:24Phipps
46:24200
46:25pounds
46:25worth
46:26what do
46:27we know
46:27about
46:28Susanna
46:28Phipps
46:29so
46:29Susanna
46:30Phipps
46:30gets
46:30married
46:31three or
46:31four
46:31times
46:32each
46:32time
46:32her
46:33name
46:33changing
46:33her
46:33name
46:33exactly
46:34and
46:34so
46:34tracing
46:35her
46:35across
46:40but
46:41her
46:41family's
46:41story
46:41with
46:42the
46:42royal
46:42african
46:42company
46:43moves
46:43beyond
46:44investment
46:45her
46:45grandson
46:46james
46:46phipps
46:47ends up
46:47being
46:47one of
46:48the
46:48sort
46:48of
46:48chief
46:49factors
46:50at
46:50cape
46:50coast
46:51castle
46:51so
46:51he's
46:52working
46:52for
46:52the
46:52company
46:52on
46:53the
46:53coast
46:53of
46:53west
46:54africa
46:54directly
46:55in
46:55the
46:55slave
46:55trade
46:56yes
46:56while
46:57he's
46:57there
46:57he
46:58has
46:59a
46:59marriage
46:59with
47:00a
47:00woman
47:00who
47:00is
47:01of
47:01mixed
47:01african
47:02and
47:02dutch
47:02descent
47:03named
47:03Catherine
47:03Phipps
47:04and
47:05she
47:05is
47:05an
47:05active
47:06trader
47:06in
47:06her
47:06own
47:07right
47:07even
47:07though
47:08she's
47:08mixed
47:08race
47:08african
47:09herself
47:09she
47:10is
47:10trading
47:10in
47:11the
47:11slave
47:11trade
47:11as
47:11well
47:11she
47:12is
47:12yes
47:12and
47:13she's
47:13important
47:13for
47:14james
47:14phipps
47:14because
47:15she
47:15has
47:15access
47:15to
47:16networks
47:16that
47:16he
47:17doesn't
47:17he
47:18has
47:18several
47:19children
47:19with
47:19her
47:19his
47:20daughters
47:20are
47:21sent
47:21back
47:22to
47:22England
47:22and
47:23Susanna
47:23who
47:23we
47:24see
47:24investing
47:24in
47:24the
47:24slave
47:25trade
47:25you
47:26know
47:26in
47:261687
47:27ends
47:27up
47:27partially
47:28caring
47:28for
47:29these
47:30mixed
47:31race
47:31children
47:31so
47:32these
47:32are
47:32two
47:33mixed
47:33race
47:33girls
47:34being
47:34educated
47:35in
47:35England
47:35whose
47:36mother
47:36was
47:37an
47:37African
47:37slave
47:38trader
47:38and
47:39whose
47:39grandmother
47:40whose
47:40care
47:41they're
47:41in
47:41is
47:42an
47:42investor
47:42in
47:42the
47:42slave
47:43trade
47:43this
47:44is
47:44really
47:44striking
47:45when
47:45we
47:45think
47:46about
47:46the
47:46role
47:46of
47:47women
47:47as
47:47financial
47:48actors
47:48in
47:48the
47:49Atlantic
47:49slave
47:49trade
47:50but
47:51very
47:51few
47:51of
47:51these
47:51investors
47:52would
47:52have
47:52been
47:52to
47:53West
47:53Africa
47:53or
47:54to
47:54the
47:54Caribbean
47:54they
47:54wouldn't
47:55have
47:55seen
47:55the
47:56trade
47:56in
47:57operation
47:57but
47:58what
47:58do
47:59they
47:59know
47:59about
47:59just
48:00the
48:00realities
48:01of
48:01this
48:01trade
48:02I
48:02think
48:03that
48:03there
48:04are
48:04certainly
48:04investors
48:05that
48:05might
48:05know
48:06less
48:07than
48:07others
48:07but
48:09what
48:09I
48:09would
48:09say
48:09is
48:10that
48:10more
48:11people
48:11than
48:11you
48:11would
48:11think
48:12understand
48:13pretty
48:13clearly
48:13what's
48:14going
48:14on
48:14so
48:15for
48:15example
48:15when
48:16a
48:17Royal
48:18African
48:18company
48:18ship
48:19launched
48:20a
48:20slaving
48:20voyage
48:20often
48:21the
48:22captain
48:23surgeon
48:24would
48:24get
48:24a
48:25kind
48:25of
48:25bonus
48:25for
48:26how
48:26many
48:26people
48:26they
48:26were
48:26able
48:27to
48:27actually
48:27successfully
48:28keep
48:28alive
48:29what
48:29was
48:29called
48:29either
48:30denny
48:30or
48:30head
48:30money
48:30and
48:31in
48:31order
48:32to
48:32this is
48:32the bonus
48:33paid
48:33for
48:33each
48:34African
48:34brought
48:35to
48:35the
48:35new
48:35world
48:35to
48:35the
48:36Caribbean
48:36alive
48:37exactly
48:37that
48:38could
48:38then
48:38be
48:38sold
48:38to
48:39understand
48:39the
48:39concept
48:40of
48:40head
48:40money
48:41you
48:42need
48:42to
48:42understand
48:42the
48:42concept
48:43of
48:43what
48:43people
48:44call
48:44wastage
48:45that
48:4510
48:4620%
48:47sometimes
48:47of
48:48people
48:48on
48:48board
48:48these
48:49slave
48:49ships
48:49weren't
48:50going
48:50to
48:50make
48:50it
48:50they
48:51were
48:51going
48:51to
48:51die
48:51yes
48:52and
48:52it's
48:52cold
48:53hard
48:53economic
48:54calculation
48:54you're
48:54not
48:55going
48:55to
48:55invest
48:55in
48:55a
48:55company
48:56that
48:56you
48:56don't
48:56understand
48:57these
48:58people
48:58are
48:59very
49:00financially
49:00literate
49:00for
49:01the
49:01most
49:01part
49:01they
49:02are
49:02strategic
49:02choices
49:03about
49:03when
49:03they
49:03buy
49:04and
49:04sell
49:04shares
49:04and
49:05that
49:05is
49:05informed
49:05by
49:06a
49:06somewhat
49:06robust
49:07knowledge
49:07of
49:07the
49:08trade
49:08it's
49:08informed
49:08by
49:09knowledge
49:09of
49:09political
49:09change
49:10of
49:11market
49:11price
49:12you know
49:12so
49:12they're
49:13compiling
49:14a huge
49:14amount
49:14of
49:14information
49:15often
49:15into
49:16making
49:16the
49:17choice
49:17to
49:17invest
49:18in
49:18Atlantic
49:18slavery
49:27as
49:27the
49:27Royal
49:28African
49:28Company
49:29expanded
49:29it
49:30was
49:30not
49:30just
49:31individuals
49:31who
49:32invested
49:32the
49:33new
49:34research
49:34has
49:35catalogued
49:35investments
49:36made
49:36by
49:37institutions
49:39one of
49:40which
49:40was
49:40the
49:40Royal
49:41Society
49:41of
49:42London
49:42for
49:43improving
49:43natural
49:44knowledge
49:45known
49:45today
49:46as
49:46the
49:46Royal
49:46Society
49:48the
49:49oldest
49:49and one
49:50of the
49:50most
49:51respected
49:51learned
49:52societies
49:53in the
49:53world
49:56established
49:56in
49:571660
49:58the
49:58same
49:59year
49:59as
49:59the
49:59first
50:00of
50:00the
50:00Royal
50:00Monopoly
50:01slave
50:01trading
50:02companies
50:02it
50:03was
50:03one
50:03of
50:03those
50:03institutions
50:04to
50:05which
50:05the
50:05Stuarts
50:06attached
50:06the
50:07Royal
50:07Prefects
50:08and
50:08to
50:08which
50:08they
50:09provided
50:09Royal
50:10Patronage
50:10and
50:11in
50:11the
50:11archives
50:12the
50:12Society's
50:13history
50:13is
50:14preserved
50:14in
50:15meticulous
50:15detail
50:17this
50:18ledger
50:19contains
50:19the
50:19minutes
50:20of
50:20meetings
50:20of
50:21the
50:21council
50:21of
50:22the
50:22Royal
50:22Society
50:23the
50:23Society's
50:24governing
50:24body
50:25and
50:26they
50:26discuss
50:26lots
50:27of
50:27different
50:27things
50:28at
50:28these
50:28meetings
50:28which
50:29books
50:30to
50:30buy
50:30for
50:31the
50:31Society's
50:31library
50:32which
50:33works
50:33by
50:33Society
50:34members
50:34are
50:35worthy
50:35of
50:35publication
50:36and
50:36how
50:37to
50:37manage
50:37and
50:37how
50:38to
50:38invest
50:38the
50:39Society's
50:40money
50:40this
50:41meeting
50:42took
50:42place
50:43on
50:43November
50:4322nd
50:441682
50:46and
50:47at the
50:47top
50:47it
50:47lists
50:48the
50:49members
50:49of
50:49the
50:49council
50:50who
50:50were
50:51present
50:51and
50:51the
50:51first
50:52of
50:52them
50:52is
50:52the
50:53president
50:53Sir
50:54Christopher
50:54Wren
50:55the
50:55great
50:55architect
50:56and
50:57in
50:571682
50:58he
50:58was
50:59still
50:59working
51:00on
51:00the
51:00rebuilding
51:01of
51:01St. Paul's
51:01Cathedral
51:02and
51:02he
51:02begun
51:03work
51:03on
51:04the
51:04Royal
51:04Chelsea
51:05Hospital
51:05the
51:05home
51:06for
51:06army
51:07veterans
51:08also
51:08at
51:09the
51:09meeting
51:09was
51:10a
51:10Mr.
51:11Hook
51:11now
51:12that
51:12is
51:12Robert
51:13Hook
51:13the
51:13great
51:14scientist
51:15the
51:15great
51:15polymath
51:16and
51:16as
51:17ever
51:17Robert
51:18Hook
51:18was
51:18working
51:18on
51:19lots
51:19of
51:19different
51:19things
51:20at
51:20the
51:20same
51:20time
51:21in
51:21November
51:211682
51:23and
51:23among
51:23them
51:23was
51:24his
51:24writings
51:24about
51:25comets
51:26because
51:26Halley's
51:27Comet
51:27had
51:28just
51:28appeared
51:28a few
51:29months
51:29earlier
51:30in
51:30the
51:30skies
51:31but
51:32at
51:32this
51:32meeting
51:33in
51:33November
51:341682
51:35the
51:35members
51:36of
51:36the
51:36council
51:36were
51:37engaged
51:37in
51:37debating
51:38much
51:39more
51:39mundane
51:39much
51:40more
51:40down-to-earth
51:41matters
51:42how to
51:43invest
51:43the
51:43society's
51:44money
51:45and
51:45it
51:45and it
51:46tells
51:46us
51:46that
51:47upon
51:47consideration
51:48of
51:49laying
51:49out
51:49part
51:50of
51:50the
51:51stock
51:51of
51:51the
51:51royal
51:52society
51:52to
51:53the
51:53best
51:53advantage
51:54it
51:54was
51:55concluded
51:55that
51:56200
51:56pounds
51:57original
51:57stock
51:58in
51:59the
51:59African
51:59company
52:00should
52:01be
52:01bought
52:01and
52:02that
52:03of
52:03course
52:03is
52:04the
52:04royal
52:04African
52:05company
52:05and
52:06it
52:07tells
52:07us
52:08in
52:08the
52:08minutes
52:08that
52:09a
52:09Mr.
52:10Hill
52:10was
52:10to
52:11carry
52:11out
52:11this
52:12transaction
52:12on
52:13behalf
52:13of
52:14the
52:14society
52:14now
52:15this
52:16is
52:17Mr.
52:17Abraham
52:18Hill
52:18he's
52:19also
52:19listed
52:20here
52:20as
52:20a
52:20member
52:20of
52:21the
52:21council
52:21and
52:22he
52:22was
52:23the
52:23treasurer
52:24of
52:24the
52:24royal
52:25society
52:25and
52:26it
52:26is
52:26possible
52:27to
52:27follow
52:28this
52:29transaction
52:29across
52:30the
52:30days
52:31and
52:31across
52:32London
52:33because
52:33we
52:33find
52:34Abraham
52:34Hill
52:35in
52:35the
52:35minutes
52:36of
52:36another
52:36meeting
52:37that
52:37took
52:37place
52:38on
52:38the
52:3828th
52:39of
52:39November
52:39six
52:40days
52:41later
52:41and
52:42this
52:42was
52:42a
52:42meeting
52:43held
52:43at
52:44African
52:44House
52:45which
52:46was
52:46the
52:46headquarters
52:46of the
52:47Royal
52:47African
52:48Company
52:49on
52:49Leidenhall
52:49in the
52:50heart
52:50of the
52:51city
52:51of
52:52London
52:52and
52:52it
52:53was
52:53a
52:53meeting
52:53of the
52:54court
52:54of
52:55assistance
52:55the
52:56board
52:56of the
52:57Royal
52:57African
52:58Company
52:58and
52:59and
52:59and
52:59on
53:00this
53:00page
53:00is
53:01the
53:01name
53:02Mr
53:02Abraham
53:03Hill
53:05now
53:06he
53:06carries
53:07out
53:07two
53:08transactions
53:09both
53:09for
53:10£200
53:11of
53:12Royal
53:13African
53:13Company
53:13stock
53:14now
53:15we
53:15think
53:15that
53:16one
53:16of
53:16these
53:16transactions
53:17was
53:18a
53:18personal
53:19private
53:20investment
53:20and
53:21that
53:21the
53:21other
53:22was
53:22the
53:22£200
53:23he
53:24was
53:24investing
53:24on
53:25behalf
53:25of
53:26the
53:26Royal
53:26Society
53:27So
53:28this
53:29this
53:29is
53:29the
53:30moment
53:30when
53:31one
53:31of
53:31England's
53:32greatest
53:32institutions
53:33a
53:34society
53:35at the
53:35heart
53:35of
53:36the
53:36English
53:36Enlightenment
53:37of
53:38the
53:38drive
53:38for
53:39science
53:39and
53:40experiment
53:40and
53:40reason
53:41that
53:41that
53:41society
53:42became
53:43an
53:43investor
53:44in
53:45the
53:45slave
53:45trade
53:53In
53:54the
53:54years
53:54the
53:54Royal
53:55Society
53:55held
53:56shares
53:56in
53:57the
53:57Royal
53:57African
53:58Company
53:58it
53:59received
53:59a
53:59little
54:00over
54:00£132
54:01in
54:02dividends
54:03£26,000
54:05in
54:06today's
54:06money
54:11The
54:12links
54:12between
54:13the
54:13Royal
54:13Society
54:14and
54:14the
54:14slave
54:15trade
54:15have
54:15been
54:16researched
54:16by
54:17the
54:17society
54:18itself
54:18the
54:19same
54:19spirit
54:20of
54:20open
54:20investigation
54:21upon
54:22which
54:22the
54:23scientific
54:23principles
54:24of the
54:25society
54:25have
54:26always
54:26rested
54:26are
54:27being
54:27applied
54:28to
54:28its
54:28own
54:29history
54:30But
54:31the
54:31Royal
54:31Society
54:32is
54:33just
54:33one
54:33of
54:34many
54:34institutions
54:35that
54:35benefited
54:36financially
54:37from the
54:37trade
54:38in
54:38enslaved
54:39Africans
54:42The
54:43research
54:43carried
54:44out
54:44for
54:44the
54:44register
54:45of
54:45British
54:45slave
54:45traders
54:46has
54:46uncovered
54:47more
54:47connections
54:48and
54:48collated
54:49the
54:49names
54:50of
54:50institutions
54:50onto
54:51their
54:51database
54:54You
54:55will
54:55have
54:55uncovered
54:56the
54:56histories
54:56of
54:57organisations
54:57that
54:58don't
54:59know
54:59their
54:59own
54:59histories
55:00that
55:00don't
55:01know
55:01of
55:01these
55:01connections
55:02to
55:02the
55:02slave
55:02trade
55:03What
55:04do
55:04we
55:04do
55:04with
55:05this
55:05knowledge
55:05One
55:06of
55:06the
55:06things
55:06that
55:07we
55:07started
55:07is
55:07to
55:07let
55:08some
55:08of
55:08these
55:08organisations
55:08know
55:09about
55:09these
55:09connections
55:10I
55:10think
55:10it's
55:11true
55:11to
55:11say
55:11that
55:11most
55:12organisations
55:12of
55:13a
55:13certain
55:13age
55:13may
55:14have
55:14assumed
55:14a
55:14connection
55:15and
55:15they
55:15may
55:15not
55:16know
55:16precisely
55:16what
55:16that
55:17consists
55:17of
55:17and
55:17this
55:18data
55:18can
55:18help
55:18them
55:18to
55:18understand
55:19that
55:19and
55:19confront
55:19it
55:20I
55:21think
55:21we
55:21established
55:22early
55:22on
55:22that
55:23if
55:23we're
55:23looking
55:23at
55:23an
55:23institution
55:24that
55:24has
55:24roots
55:25into
55:25the
55:2517th
55:26or 18th
55:26century
55:27the
55:27likelihood
55:28is
55:28more
55:28than
55:28that
55:29there
55:29will
55:29be
55:29links
55:30to
55:30the
55:30slave
55:30trade
55:30in
55:30one
55:31way
55:31or
55:31another
55:31whether
55:32that's
55:32businesses
55:33that still
55:33operate
55:34or
55:34charities
55:34and I
55:35think
55:35that
55:35just
55:35shows
55:36how
55:36endemic
55:36the
55:36trade
55:37was
55:37in
55:37the
55:37British
55:38economy
55:38women
55:39could
55:39take
55:39the
55:39proceeds
55:40from
55:40investing
55:41in
55:41the
55:41slave
55:41trade
55:41and
55:42use
55:42them
55:42as
55:42a
55:43way
55:43to
55:43gain
55:43access
55:43to
55:44institutions
55:44that
55:44they
55:44otherwise
55:45would
55:45have
55:45been
55:45excluded
55:46from
55:46for
55:46example
55:47women
55:47leave
55:47substantial
55:48gifts
55:49to
55:49Oxford
55:49in
55:50Cambridge
55:50colleges
55:50they
55:51wouldn't
55:51have
55:51been
55:51allowed
55:51to
55:51study
55:52there
55:52there
55:53must
55:53have
55:53been
55:53moments
55:54when
55:54you're
55:54looking
55:54at
55:55numbers
55:55and
55:55figures
55:56and
55:56investments
55:57on
55:57bits
55:57of
55:57paper
55:58that
55:59you
55:59remember
55:59that
56:00this
56:00is
56:00about
56:01the
56:01trafficking
56:02of
56:02men
56:02women
56:03and
56:03children
56:03there
56:03must
56:04have
56:04been
56:04some
56:04difficult
56:05moments
56:05in
56:05the
56:05research
56:05absolutely
56:06what
56:07we've
56:07done
56:07overall
56:08is
56:08to
56:10introduce
56:1213,000
56:12individuals
56:13give them
56:15personalities
56:15give them
56:16prominence
56:16whilst
56:17understanding
56:18that
56:18the
56:18over 3
56:19million
56:20enslaved
56:20African
56:21people
56:21who
56:21they're
56:21transported
56:22almost
56:23remain
56:24completely
56:25anonymous
56:34before
56:35the
56:35restoration
56:35of the
56:36Stuart
56:36dynasty
56:37and the
56:37establishment
56:38of the
56:39first
56:39of the
56:40royal
56:40monopoly
56:40companies
56:41the
56:41English
56:42share
56:42of the
56:43European
56:43slave
56:44trade
56:44was
56:45around
56:455%
56:46by
56:471683
56:49England's
56:50market
56:50share
56:50had
56:51risen
56:51to
56:5254%
56:53by
56:54that
56:54year
56:55those
56:55royal
56:55companies
56:56had
56:56transported
56:57around
56:5870,000
56:59Africans
56:59into
57:00slavery
57:00and
57:01two
57:02years
57:02later
57:02the
57:03royal
57:03African
57:04company
57:04achieved
57:05a new
57:05and
57:06unprecedented
57:06level
57:07of
57:07power
57:08and
57:08influence
57:09when
57:09King
57:10Charles
57:10the
57:10second
57:11suddenly
57:11grew
57:12ill
57:12and
57:13died
57:15the
57:16successor
57:16to
57:17King
57:17Charles
57:17was
57:18the
57:18man
57:18whose
57:19statue
57:19stands
57:19here
57:20on
57:20the
57:20edge
57:21of
57:21Trafalgar
57:21Square
57:22his
57:22brother
57:22James
57:23Duke
57:24of
57:24York
57:24when
57:25he
57:25came
57:25to
57:25the
57:25throne
57:26in
57:261685
57:27it
57:28meant
57:28that
57:28the
57:28governor
57:29of
57:29the
57:29royal
57:30African
57:30company
57:31was
57:31now
57:31also
57:32the
57:33ruling
57:33monarch
57:33company
57:35investors
57:35both
57:36private
57:37individuals
57:37and
57:38institutions
57:39could
57:39now
57:39look
57:40forward
57:40to
57:41the
57:41continued
57:42growth
57:42of
57:43England
57:43share
57:43of
57:44the
57:44Atlantic
57:44slave
57:45trade
57:45and
57:46the
57:46continued
57:46growth
57:46of
57:47their
57:47profits
57:52but
57:52what
57:53followed
57:53was not
57:54a boom
57:55for the
57:55royal
57:56African
57:56company
57:56but
57:57the
57:57fall
57:58and
57:58exile
57:59of
57:59King
57:59James
58:00and
58:00the
58:00emergence
58:01of
58:01a new
58:02and
58:02rival
58:03set
58:03of
58:04companies
58:04and
58:04investors
58:05who
58:05were
58:06to
58:06transform
58:06the
58:07slave
58:07trade
58:12next
58:13time
58:13a new
58:14deregulated
58:15privatized
58:16age
58:16begins
58:17spreading
58:18the
58:18slave
58:18trade
58:18to
58:19towns
58:19and
58:19cities
58:20across
58:20Britain
58:28who
58:29first
58:29thought
58:29up
58:29the
58:29whodunit
58:30find out
58:31with the
58:31here
58:31for the
58:31history
58:32visualized
58:32podcast
58:33listen
58:33on
58:33sounds
58:34and
58:34watch
58:34on
58:34iPlayer
58:35this
58:36and
58:36everything
58:36across
58:37the
58:37BBC
58:37is
58:38made
58:38possible
58:38because
58:39we're
58:39funded
58:40by
58:40you
58:40thank
58:41you