New research into Britain's history of slavery has revealed that the Bank of England and the broader British financial system were deeply involved in the enslavement and transatlantic trafficking of millions of Africans over centuries. Historians compiling the Register of British Slave Traders have found that the extent of the financial system's role in this trade is greater than previously understood. The Bank of England, which has been government-owned since nationalization in 1946, was founded by individuals who were also major investors in the transatlantic slave trade. Dr. Michael Bennett of the University of Sheffield has uncovered that 24 of the Bank's early directors were involved in the trafficking of enslaved people. Four of these individuals were among the original founding directors in 1694, while the rest held positions at the Bank for the following century. One of the last, Christopher Puller, was a shipper of weapons for the slave trade and co-owner of a 1786 voyage that transported enslaved people from the Gambia to Jamaica. Bennett's research also shows that at least 30 of the founding subscribers to the Bank of England had invested in the transatlantic slave trade. At the head of these investors were King William III and Queen Mary II, who held shares in the Royal African Company. According to Bennett, the wealth generated from the slave trade was a key component of the Bank's initial capital. He explained that during the 17th and 18th centuries, slave traders and their wealth were deeply embedded in Britain’s financial system, shaping its development. Financial institutions, including the Bank of England, provided essential services that supported and profited from the transatlantic slave economy. The Bank of England directly supported this system, offering financial services to entities like the Royal African Company and the South Sea Company. The findings from the Register of British Slave Traders complement previous research by historians working on the Legacies of British Slavery (LBS) archive at University College London, which documents the ownership of enslaved people on plantations. This research found that 16 former Bank governors and 26 directors had financial interests in enslaved people and plantations before the abolition of slavery in 1833. The Bank of England and the Treasury were also central to the £20 million in "compensation" paid to enslavers under abolition laws—equivalent to around £23 billion today—while no compensation was given to the people who had been enslaved. The Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 led several major banks to acknowledge their historical ties to slavery. Dr. Nicholas Draper, a key researcher in the LBS project and lead investigator for the Register of British Slave Traders, found that many historic slave traders were founders of private banks and financial institutions. Further research by Bennett after the protests revealed that the Bank of England had owned 599 enslaved people on two plantations. An exhibition at the Bank in 2022 included the names of these individuals, most of whom had European-sounding names like Pierre and Catherine, with no information about their origins. While the Bank has acknowledged and apologized for its past, the government has not publicly done so, aligning with its resistance to discussions of reparations and historical accountability. Bennett’s work may increase pressure on the government to address this legacy, especially as calls for justice grow from Caribbean and African nations.