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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Desirée Baptiste and Jon Ungoed-Thomas

Revealed: how Church of England’s ties to chattel slavery went to top of hierarchy

Codrington College, an Anglican theological college in St John, Barbados.
Codrington College, an Anglican theological college in St John, Barbados. Photograph: Appreciative Snaps/Shutterstock

An archbishop of Canterbury in the 18th century approved payments for the purchase of enslaved people for two sugar plantations in Barbados, documents seen by the Observer have revealed.

Thomas Secker agreed to reimburse a payment for £1,093 for the purchase of enslaved people on the Codrington Plantations, as well as hiring enslaved people from a third party. It was stated the measures were “calculated for the future lasting advantages of the estates”.

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