Bank of England paid £20m to slave owners, 24 directors linked to trade

The Bank of England’s historic ties to the slave trade have been detailed in new research cited by The Guardian. The study confirms that the bank paid out £20 million in compensation to former enslavers after the 1833 abolition legislation, a sum that modern calculations put at roughly £23 billion. The same research identifies twenty‑four directors who were investors in the trafficking of enslaved Africans.

Directors with slave‑trade interests

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Dr Michael Bennett of the University of Sheffield, who led the investigation, said twenty‑four bank directors held shares or other financial stakes in the slave trade. Four of those directors were among the original founders in 1694, while the remaining twenty served during the following century. Nine of the twenty‑four also acted as governors of the bank, linking senior management directly to the trade.

“Banks and other institutions, like insurers, provided the financial services that supported, and made great wealth from, the transatlantic slave economy.”

Dr Michael Bennett, University of Sheffield

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Humphry Morice’s commercial trafficking

The research also highlights Humphry Morice, a long‑term director and governor from 1727 to 1729, as a major trafficker. Morice equipped roughly 110 voyages between 1704 and 1732, moving more than 30,000 enslaved men, women and children to colonies such as Jamaica, Barbados and Virginia. His activities were described by Prof Matthew David Mitchell as the largest London‑based operation of its kind.

Bank’s recent acknowledgment

In 2022 the Bank of England opened an exhibition that listed the names of the enslaved people it owned on two plantations, a total of 599 individuals. A bank spokesperson told The Guardian that the exhibition reflected deep research undertaken with Dr Bennett and that the institution was “grateful for his collaboration”. The bank has issued an apology for the involvement of past governors and directors, though the Treasury has not made a comparable statement.

The findings add pressure on the UK government to address historic injustices, but no official response on reparations or formal acknowledgment has been announced. Observers note that the new data may influence future debates about restitution and public memory.