Jordan Andrews on Charles II’s backing for the Royal African Company. Plus, Robert Godsill on Oliver Cromwell’s leading role in slavery
Your article refers to William III’s shares in the Royal African Company (RAC), which transported more slaves across the Atlantic than any other company, but misses the bigger picture (The Colston connection: how Prince William’s Kensington Palace home is linked to slavery, 6 April).
The RAC (and its predecessor, the Company of Royal Adventurers) relied on royal backing from the start. The grim document in which Charles II granted it exclusive rights to barter for black slaves can be viewed on the British Library website. It used its royally sanctioned monopoly to rapidly position England as Europe’s biggest slave-trading country. Many of the transported were branded “DoY”, for James, Duke of York, the company’s governor – and future king. Edward Colston’s transfer of shares to William III following the Glorious Revolution was simply maintaining the traditional royal patronage of slaving.
