Research reveals British Crown emblem used to brand enslaved Africans by South Sea Company
New research shows enslaved Africans were branded with a British Crown symbol by the South Sea Company in the early 1700s.
A five-year investigation compiled in the Register of British Slave Traders has uncovered that the South Sea Company, established in 1711, supplied iron branding irons to its agents to imprint a Crown emblem and the company’s logo on the left shoulder of enslaved Africans. A February 1714 correspondence reveals the branding was intended to distinguish the company’s slaves from those of rivals. Researchers William Pettigrew and Nicholas Radburn say the evidence highlights a stark link between the British monarchy and the transatlantic slave trade.
The register lists over 13,000 individuals and institutions, from royalty to ordinary tradespeople, that profited from slavery. Buckingham Palace noted King Charles’s commitment to confronting historic slavery, while Jamaica has recently petitioned the monarch for reparations. The findings add new depth to debates over historical accountability.
Why it matters
The discovery exposes how the British monarchy and its institutions directly profited from and marked enslaved people, informing current reparations discussions.
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