The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has apologised after research revealed that the Church of England's investment fund has links to the slave trade. The investigation, initiated by the Church Commissioners, a charity managing the Church's investment portfolio, revealed that for more than 100 years the fund invested large sums of money in a company responsible for transporting slaves.
The fund, known in the 18th century as Queen Anne's Bounty, has now developed into a £10.1bn investment trust. It was formed in 1704 to help support poor clergy. An examination of its accounts in 1739 showed £204,000 (estimated to be worth £443m today) had been invested in the South Sea Company.
The South Sea Company had an exclusive contract to transport slaves from Africa to Spanish colonies in South America for more than 30 years from the 1710s. It shipped tens of thousands of slaves, with the research suggesting that an estimated 15% of them died en route. Church investments in the South Sea Company continued well into the 19th century.
The senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England said: "This abominable trade took men, women and children created in God's image and stripped them of their dignity and freedom.
"The fact that some within the Church actively supported and profited from it is a source of shame. It is only by facing this painful reality that we can take steps towards genuine healing and reconciliation - the path that Jesus Christ calls us to walk."
