Church of England admits ‘real shame for us’ over slavery ties

The church plans to spend $121 million to fix “our sad history” of taking part in the slave trade in the 18th century.

The chairman of the Church of England’s investment arm said that the Church of England was investing in the transatlantic slave trade during the 18th century, even though it had promised to spend 100 million British pounds ($121 million) to fix the wrongs caused by the slave trade.

The Church Commissioners, who are in charge of the church’s 10-billion-dollar investment portfolio, will use the money to set up a fund that will invest in communities affected by slavery and do research and outreach on the church’s ties to slavery.

Church of England Investigation

An investigation commissioned by the church last June discovered that the precursor of its investment fund, Queen Anne’s Bounty, invested heavily in the slave-trading South Sea Company in the 18th century.

“There’s no question that individuals making the investment understood that the South Sea Company was trading in enslaved people, and it’s now a source of tremendous sorrow for us, for which we regret,” Church Commissioners chief executive said Gareth Mostyn said on BBC radio on Wednesday.

Forensic accountants and academics helped write the report by looking at early ledgers and other documents from Queen Anne’s Bounty, which merged with another group in 1948 to form the Church Commissioners.

According to the investigation, the corporation also received several gifts from individuals likely to have benefited from transatlantic slavery, in which enslaved Africans were brought to labor in crop plantations, mostly in the Americas.

Time To Take Action

The Archbishop of  Church Canterbury said on “Tuesday it was now time for the church to take action to address “our awful past”.

The spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, who also serves as chair of the Church Commissioners, stated that it is critical to address the church’s past to face “our present and future with integrity.”

‘200 years of denial.’
In recent years, the toppling of a statue of a 17th-century English slave trader in Bristol, England, sparked a national debate about Britain’s colonial past and its links to slavery.

Over the years, countries like the U.S. and Britain have been asked to pay restitution for slavery. The amount of restitution requested for an estimated range from billions to trillions of dollars.

SOURCE – (AJ)