British Crown symbol branded on enslaved Africans, research finds

September 15, 2026 at 02:36 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

New research by the Register of British Slave Traders project reveals that enslaved Africans were branded with an emblem of the British Crown. The mark, found in South Sea Company archives, was used to distinguish the company's slaves. The register documents 13,000 individuals and hundreds of institutions involved in Britain's slave trade between 1563 and 1807.

Key Facts

The Register of British Slave Traders lists 13,000 individuals and hundreds of institutions involved in Britain's slave trade between 1563 and 1807.
Dr Nicholas Radburn found the branding mark—a Crown above the South Sea Company logo—in the company's archives at the British Library in 2022.
A February 1714 letter from the South Sea Company directors instructed slave traders to brand enslaved Africans on the left shoulder with the Crown emblem.
Prof William Pettigrew of King's College London said the monarchy's finances and reputation were relaunched through investment in the transatlantic slave trade after the execution of Charles I.

The Branding Discovery

Dr Nicholas Radburn, historian at Lancaster University, found the identifying mark—an image of the Crown with the South Sea Company logo below it—while examining the company's archives at the British Library in 2022. The mark was recorded in a volume titled 'The Register of Instruments', which Radburn described as 'very nondescript sounding'. In 2024, Radburn located letters from the company's director to slave traders in the Spanish Americas that detailed the branding practice. A February 1714 letter instructed that irons made in England be used to brand enslaved Africans on the left shoulder to distinguish the company's slaves from others.

Monarchy and Slavery

Prof William Pettigrew, who led the research, called the branding a 'dramatic and harrowing' symbol of the monarchy's relationship to slavery. Pettigrew noted that after the execution of King Charles I, members of the royal family invested in the transatlantic slave trade to restore the monarchy's finances and reputation. He emphasised that the monarchy as an institution remains the same today as it was in the 17th century, and that the slave trade played a role in rehabilitating it.