British Monarchy Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Slave Trade

New historical research has revealed the extent of the British monarchy’s involvement in the slave trade, including evidence that some enslaved Africans were branded with hot metal bearing the royal crown. Nicholas Radburn, a historian at Lancaster University, uncovered a letter from the South Sea Company, an enterprise affiliated with the British crown, instructing agents to mark enslaved people on their left shoulders with a hot-metal brand bearing the royal crown. Royal figures, including James II, Charles II, and Queen Anne, invested in or supported companies involved in the trade. The South Sea Company alone trafficked more than 43,000 African captives between 1714 and 1740. The findings are likely to intensify calls for King Charles to acknowledge the monarchy’s role and address demands for reparations.