# Church of England's hidden slavery profits come to light > New research reveals 45 C of E clergymen invested in the Royal African Company, which trafficked more enslaved Africans than any other organization. - Title: Church of England's hidden slavery profits come to light - Summary: New research reveals 45 C of E clergymen invested in the Royal African Company, which trafficked more enslaved Africans than any other organization. The… - Keywords: church of england, slavery, reparations, royal african company, sarah mullally, project spire, ottobah cugoano, cape coast castle, codrington estate, william pettigrew, register of british slave traders, ghana - Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/sep/16/church-of-england-enslavement-reparations-debate - Published: 2026-09-16T05:00:11+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: church of england, slavery, reparations, royal african company, sarah mullally, project spire, ottobah cugoano, cape coast castle, codrington estate, william pettigrew, register of british slave traders, ghana ## Archbishop visits slave dungeon site Sarah Mullally traveled to Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, where abolitionist Ottobah Cugoano was enslaved as a boy. She recommitted the church to its 'journey of repentance' for its role in slavery. ## 45 clergy financed slave trading The newly digitized Register of British Slave Traders reveals 45 C of E clergymen invested in the Royal African Company. Their money funded hundreds of slaving voyages and the company's 1720 relaunch. ## Archdeacon bought shares on appointment Henry Brydges, later a canon at St Paul's Cathedral, purchased half of his £10,000 RAC shareholding on the day he became Archdeacon of Rochester. The RAC trafficked more Africans than any other single organization. ## Slavery profits reached every corner The register shows a 'truly national picture' of enslavement profits filtering to communities from Cumbria to the Cotswolds. Parish bequests spread wealth from slavery throughout England. ## £100m fund sparks church division Church commissioners launched Project Spire in 2023, a £100m impact investment fund for communities affected by slavery's legacies. It's not officially a reparations fund and faces internal opposition. ## Spire covers only a sliver Project Spire mainly responds to investments in the South Sea Company, which trafficked 45,000 enslaved Africans. This represents just a 'sliver of church complicity,' according to Prof Alan Lester. ## Slavery profits built modern Britain Plantation profits fueled the Industrial Revolution, railways, public health, welfare, universities, schools, and church building. The wealth gap between Jamaican and British Anglican parishes remains stark today. > Slavery made the image of God transactional. There has to be an understanding of the impact on the world. ## The censored Slave Bible From 1807, planters used a C of E-sanctioned Bible stripped of liberation narratives as a tool of social control. Dr Leona Vaughn says the public doesn't even know the extent of church involvement. > We've not even started to come to terms with the 'Slave Bible' ## Church enslaved people for 120 years The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel enslaved people on Barbados's Codrington estate for over 120 years. The estate generated the equivalent of £5m annually in today's money. ## Branded with the word Society At Codrington, enslaved Africans were branded with the word 'Society,' tortured with lash and iron collar, and worked to death. In seven months in 1746, 19 enslaved people died, including Daniel who was 'shot by accident.' ## Church received millions after abolition After abolition, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and at least 96 clergy received millions in compensation for 'loss of property.' In 2023, its successor launched a £7m reparative justice programme. ## Deans preached Africans were servants By the 1750s, high churchmen codified pro-slavery ideology. Thomas Newton, later dean of St Paul's, argued Africans were destined to be 'servants of servants.' > We use [African] bodies for our support and happiness. ## Family ties linked church and plantations Class shaped church complicity. The oldest child got land, the second was put in the church, the third sent to the Caribbean. One sibling could profit from slavery while another absolved it. > The right hand washing the left ## Spire faces legal challenge Despite the C of E already having an impact investment fund, Project Spire faces a legal challenge from rightwing critics. MP Marsha de Cordova confirmed it's funded from commissioners' income, not parish collections. ## Britain's slavery debt estimated at £18.6tn A 2023 report put Britain's slavery debt at £18.6tn. For Rev Natasha Beckles, no sum could be enough: 'For that level of human suffering, you'd be writing a blank cheque.' > What do you say to a mother who has had her child taken from her? To talk about a figure is grotesque ## Key takeaway The Church of England's complicity in slavery was far deeper than previously acknowledged, with clergy directly financing the largest slave trading company in history.