British class society Lloyd’s Register (LR) has apologised for its role in the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved African people following a re-examining of its history and involvement in these acts.
Britain was a major participant in the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved African people. From 1640 to 1807, British ships made around 10,000 voyages, forcibly taking and transporting about 3.4m people, 800,000 of whom died in transit.
The transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans involved a triangular route between Britain, Africa, and the Caribbean, where goods were exchanged for kidnapped African people. These individuals were forced into a life of slavery and transported under terrible conditions to work on plantations in return for products like sugar and tobacco.
LR, known as the Society for the Registry of Shipping during that time, said it began re-examining its history as an organisation in 2022 together with the Wilberforce Institute to better understand its role in those injustices. The initial research focused on records from 1764 to 1834.
LR’s research found that it recorded information about vessel seaworthiness, helping those involved in the trade to buy, sell, and insure the vessels. It then sold that information on to subscribers, many of whom were actively involved in the slave economy.
Some of LR’s early committee members were involved in the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved African people. Notably, at least six committee members of the Society for the Registry of Shipping from 1764 were identified as enslavers, while another six were involved in the trafficking of enslaved Africans.
According to the class society, it played an important role in supporting a maritime system that enabled the slave economy from its founding in 1760 until the UK’s Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.
“We are deeply sorry for this part of our history. Acknowledging this legacy is important for our organisation, the descendants of those affected and those who still live with the consequences of this trafficking, and society as a whole,” LR said.
It also made a grant of £1m to The National Archives to launch PASSAGE – Partnership for Atlantic Slavery Scholarship, Archiving, and Global Exchange – which will catalogue, open, and share archived materials and support scholarship in the Caribbean and West Africa for the “development of new narratives surrounding the history of transatlantic slavery”.
Lloyd’s Register also committed to the continuing sponsorship of up to five postgraduate students from Africa studying maritime subjects.
“Confronting our role in the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved African people is challenging, but necessary. We’re committed to being open about our findings and taking these real steps to acknowledge its impact,” the class society concluded.
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