# How slave trade money built Britain's banking system

> New research reveals the Bank of England and financial institutions were deeply embedded in the trafficking of enslaved Africans.
- Title: How slave trade money built Britain's banking system
- Summary: New research reveals the Bank of England and financial institutions were deeply embedded in the trafficking of enslaved Africans. Britain's financial system…
- Keywords: bank of england, slave trade, enslavement, michael bennett, university of sheffield, register of british slave traders, royal african company, south sea company, financial system, britain, transatlantic trafficking, african people
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2026/sep/16/slave-trade-wealth-britain-financial-system-bank-of-england-enslaved-africans
- Published: 2026-09-16T05:00:12+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: bank of england, slave trade, enslavement, michael bennett, university of sheffield, register of british slave traders, royal african company, south sea company, financial system, britain, transatlantic trafficking, african people
## Banking built on enslavement
The Bank of England and British financial system were deeply involved in enslaving and trafficking millions of Africans for centuries.
## 24 directors invested in trafficking
Research found 24 Bank of England directors were investors in trafficking enslaved Africans. Four were founding directors in 1694.
## Christopher Puller shipped weapons
The last director involved, Christopher Puller, shipped weapons for the slave trade and co-owned a 1786 voyage from Gambia to Jamaica.
## Slave wealth funded the Bank
At least 30 founding subscribers invested in trafficking enslaved Africans, including King William III and Queen Mary II.

> Wealth generated from the slave trade formed part of the Bank of England's initial capital.
## Financial services enabled slavery
Banks and insurers provided financial services that supported and profited from the transatlantic slave economy throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.

> Slave traders and their wealth were firmly embedded within Britain's, especially London's, private banks and financial corporations.
## John Rudge's triple role
Bank director and governor John Rudge was simultaneously a shareholder in the Royal African Company and deputy governor of the South Sea Company.
## £23bn paid to enslavers
The Bank and Treasury paid £20m (£23bn today) in compensation to enslavers after abolition in 1833. Nothing went to enslaved people.
## Humphry Morice trafficked 30,000 people
Bank governor Humphry Morice was London's biggest trafficker, transporting over 30,000 enslaved people to Jamaica, Barbados and Virginia between 1704 and 1732.

> This was his principal commercial activity, and it is for this that he must chiefly be remembered.
## Bank apologized, Treasury hasn't
The Bank of England acknowledged its history and apologized in 2022. The Treasury has not, resisting discussion of reparations.
## Pressure builds for reparations
Caribbean and African countries are increasing pressure on the British government to acknowledge culpability for centuries of trafficking and enslavement.
## Key takeaway

Britain's financial system was built on slave trade wealth, with dozens of Bank of England directors directly investing in the trafficking of enslaved people.