British crown was world's largest buyer of enslaved people by 1807, book reveals

"The British crown and the navy expanded and protected the trade in enslaved African people for hundreds of years, unprecedented research into the monarchy's historical ties to slavery has found. The Crown's Silence, a book by the historian Brooke Newman, follows the Guardian's 2023 Cost of the crown report, which explored the British monarchy's hidden ties to transatlantic slavery."

"The book reveals that by 1807, when Britain abolished the slave trade in its empire, the British crown had become the world's largest buyer of enslaved people, buying 13,000 men for the army for 900,000. Buckingham Palace does not comment on books, but a source said King Charles, who has previously spoken of personal sorrow at the suffering caused by slavery, took the matter profoundly seriously."

"She said: The crown used to trumpet their connections to the transatlantic slave trade. They put the royal brand on this practice and literally on people's bodies. In the 18th and early 19th century, formerly enslaved people, like Olaudah Equiano, Mary Prince and Ottobah Cugoano, were directly appealing to the monarchy, sending books that they've written, sending them letters and petitioning them in newspapers. And the monarchy is doing nothing."

The British crown and the navy expanded and protected the trade in enslaved African people for centuries. By 1807 the crown had become the world's largest buyer of enslaved people, purchasing 13,000 men for the army for 900,000. Buckingham Palace declines to comment, and a source said King Charles, who previously expressed personal sorrow for slavery's suffering, took the matter seriously. Secret correspondence detailed George IV's fears of an uprising like the Haitian Revolution in Jamaica. Royal archives and manuscripts connected the Royal Navy, colonial officers, government officials, the Royal African Company and the South Sea Company to the trade. The crown publicly promoted its connections and branded enslaved people while formerly enslaved individuals appealed directly with books, letters and petitions and received no action from the monarchy.

Read at www.theguardian.com