Apology from CofE fund boss at exhibition exploring historic links with slavery
Enslavement: Voices From The Archives at Lambeth Palace Library features 18th-century ledgers among other pieces.
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Your support makes all the difference.The chief executive of the Church Commissioners for England has apologised for the bodyās āshamingā links to transatlantic chattel slavery while speaking at an exhibition featuring documents and items highlighting the historic association.
Gareth Mostyn said āno amount of money will ever be enough to repair the damage doneā through the slave trade but that the response of the commissioners, who manage an investment fund of more than Ā£10 billion for the Church of England, would help create āa better future for allā.
It comes after a report found the fund has part of its origins in Queen Anneās Bounty, which was founded in 1704 and had links with transatlantic slavery.
This prompted the church to announce Ā£100 million of funding for a programme of investment, research and engagement to try to āaddress past wrongsā.
However, there has been criticism from some groups who argue the money would be better spent funding work in local parishes.
Speaking at the Enslavement: Voices From The Archives exhibition at Lambeth Palace Library, which opened in early January, Mr Mostyn said: āWhat we discovered from our research into our predecessor funds, links to historic chattel slavery, is shaming and weāre deeply sorry. We have announced a commitment of Ā£100 million of funding in response to what we have learned.
āNo amount of money will ever be enough to repair the damage done through the transatlantic slave trade.
āBut we hope that our response will be a means of investing in a better future for all, especially communities impacted by the legacy of the slave trade, and to create a positive, lasting legacy.ā
Mr Mostyn said part of the Church Commissionersā response was to āmake sure that our history is told and that weāre transparent about what we have learnedā.
He added that the exhibition āis part of that transparency, part of telling the storyā.
āWhilst our report focused on financial transactions, our research has also uncovered many other really impactful documents from here in the library and we wanted to display those in the exhibition.ā
The display includes early 18th-century ledgers from Queen Anneās Bounty and an anonymous letter written by an enslaved person in 1723 to the āArchbishop of Londonā petitioning for their freedom.
A missionary book from 1808 published for enslaved and former enslaved people, edited to remove all references to freedom from slavery, will also be on display.
In 2019 the Church Commissioners decided to conduct research into the source of its fund, working with forensic accountants to review financial ledgers and other original documents from its archives.
The report found that, by 1777, Queen Anneās Bounty held Ā£440,962 of South Sea Company annuities ācalculated to have been worth Ā£406,942 (potentially equivalent to around Ā£724 million in todayās terms)ā.
The report estimates the South Sea Company transported 34,000 slaves āin crowded, unsanitary, unsafe and inhumane conditionsā during its 30 years of operation.