The British newspaper “The Telegraph” reported that the Church of England and the Bank of England have apologized for the involvement of some of their representatives in the past in the slave trade.
According to the newspaper, the University College London conducted a study and collected a database, which included information about 47 thousand British residents who, after the issuance of the abolition law in the country in 1833, received compensation from the authorities for the loss of their ownership of slave farms, by 20 million pounds. Equivalent to 2.4 billion pounds sterling at the current price.
The research revealed that approximately 100 priests, including a bishop, all of whom belonged to the Church of England, made profits from the exploitation of slaves. The church described the association of its representatives with slavery as “a disgrace.” Meanwhile, 6 governors and 4 managers earned income from the slave trade.
Among the bankers, the newspaper singled out John Reed, who was governor of the bank from 1839 to 1841, as well as being the director of the “West India Company”. On the basis of today’s price, the authorities have allocated him compensation of 7.1 million pounds for his share in 17 farms in the Caribbean, in which about 3.1 thousand slaves worked.
On Thursday, the Bank of England announced that it would remove paintings and pictures of conservatives and former bank managers who were linked to the slave trade.
For its part, Loydz London Insurance Company apologized for its “disgraceful” role in the transatlantic slave trade in the eighteenth century, and promised to fund opportunities for blacks and ethnic minorities.
Source: The Telegraph
