New research has revealed that enslaved Africans were forcibly branded with hot metal marks bearing the British royal crown during the height of the transatlantic slave trade. Historians examining archival material from the South Sea Company, a British crown-backed enterprise active in the 18th century, uncovered explicit instructions to brand enslaved people as a means of distinguishing them.
Dr. Nicholas Radburn, a historian at Lancaster University and a lead investigator in the Register of British Slave Traders, found a letter from the South Sea Company’s board to its agents in Buenos Aires ordering that enslaved Africans be marked with a heated metal crown on the left shoulder. Despite medical advice warning that the process could harm the individuals, the company instructed its agents to proceed, describing branding as the “most effectual” identification method. The letter also included a small silver brand to be heated and applied, underscoring the calculated and intentional cruelty involved in the trade.
The Register of British Slave Traders tracks Britain’s organized involvement in enslaving and trafficking more than three million Africans over nearly 250 years. The investigation details how the monarchy, especially after its restoration in 1660, played a fundamental role in this enterprise. King James II, previously Duke of York, was a prominent governor and investor in the Royal African Company (RAC), which transported more enslaved Africans than any other single entity in the history of the trade.
The RAC and its predecessor, founded by King Charles II and supported by royalist courtiers and financiers, held meetings in James’s personal Whitehall apartment, where key decisions about trafficking operations were made. Professor William Pettigrew, lead historian on the register, described James II as England’s most significant slave trader of the 17th century, noting the companies’ importance in consolidating the Stuart monarchy’s power.
Other royal figures, including Prince Rupert of the Rhine and Queen Catherine of Braganza, also invested in the companies. Historical records show that enslaved Africans were branded with initials such as “DY” for Duke of York and “RACE” for the Royal African Company at coastal forts and trading posts.
The South Sea Company, established in 1711 and heavily backed by Queen Anne and subsequent monarchs George I and George II, held the asiento—a contract granting Britain the right to deliver a fixed number of enslaved Africans to Spanish colonies. Between 1714 and 1740, the company transported over 43,000 Africans from West Africa and Madagascar to the Caribbean and Spanish America, with thousands perishing under brutal conditions. From the Caribbean, many were then forced to march overland to the Pacific coast of South America.
Calls for formal acknowledgment and reparations related to this history have intensified ahead of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting scheduled for November in Antigua and Barbuda. An official Jamaican delegation recently petitioned King Charles III for a legal ruling on whether Britain’s forced transportation of Africans constituted a crime against humanity and whether restitution is owed.
King Charles has expressed sorrow over slavery, describing it as an “appalling atrocity” and acknowledging its painful legacy. However, he has not issued a formal apology or acknowledgment of the monarchy’s role, with his office stating that he remains constitutionally bound by government policy. David Comissiong, ambassador of Barbados to the Caribbean Community, emphasized that while the king’s constitutional position limits his actions, the British royal family should follow the example of other British institutions that have acknowledged their involvement and expressed a willingness to make reparations.