politics
British corporation continued trafficking of enslaved Africans to Guyana 40 years after abolition
Letter written in 1847 to Sandbach, Tinne and Company’s Liverpool office reveals it engaged in practice after receiving taxpayer-funded compensation, book says
TL;DR
- A British corporation, Sandbach, Tinne and Company, is accused of illegally trafficking enslaved Africans to Guyana in 1847, 40 years after the British slave trade was abolished.
- The discovery is detailed in Malik Al Nasir's book, 'Searching for My Slave Roots', and has inspired the 'Overwriting-Underwriting' research project.
- An 1847 letter refers to a ship called 'the Parker' carrying "cargo of negroes," including many children, with casualties attributed to the "wretched state" they lived in ashore, suggesting illegal trafficking.
- Sandbach Tinne and associated families, including the Gladstones, had previously received substantial taxpayer compensation for enslaved people before abolition.
- Despite the Royal Navy's efforts to intercept slavers, an estimated fewer than 10% of ships were intercepted, and 'liberated Africans' often faced harsh conditions.
- The research initiative 'Overwriting – Underwriting' aims to uncover financial networks behind enslavement and launches at the Museum of Liverpool.