The City of London Corporation has published new research which outlines links between its historic Members and the transatlantic traffic in enslaved African people.

The information in the research is drawn from a new publicly accessible national dataset – the Register of British Slave Traders.

The City Corporation commissioned Professor William Pettigrew, the UK's leading expert on the traffic in enslaved African people, who has led the creation of the national register, to carry out the research. Professor Pettigrew’s report focuses on the role played by members in the period 1640 to 1807, when the UK was actively involved in human trafficking.

His research found 41 of 176 Lord Mayors of London in that period were involved in the traffic in enslaved African people, along with 129 of 830 Aldermen, or senior councillors, and 193 of 3,975 members of the Court of Common Council – the City Corporation’s primary decision-making body.

The report links the Members identified to over 950 voyages that violently transported around 250,000 enslaved African people across the Atlantic, around 37,000 of whom died during the crossings.

However, the research found no evidence the City Corporation as an institution invested in the trade or received direct financial benefit from it.

City of London Corporation Policy Chairman Chris Hayward said:

“The transatlantic traffic in enslaved African people was one of the worst atrocities in human history and it is important we understand the City’s links to it.

“This report reflects our commitment to confronting that history openly and honestly. While the research found no evidence that the City Corporation directly invested in or benefited from the trafficking as an institution, it makes clear that a significant number of elected Members were involved.

“We cannot change the past, but we have a responsibility to acknowledge it, learn from it, and ensure it informs how we move forward as an organisation.

“We are committed to embedding the principles of equity, equality, diversity and inclusion in everything we do, and to reflecting and respecting the diversity of the communities we serve in London and beyond.”

Professor Pettigrew’s report was commissioned in December 2024 and was based on painstaking research in the records of The London Archives and the newly launched Register of British Slave Traders.

Last year, the City Corporation launched Revealing the City’s Past, a major project to reinterpret statues at its Guildhall headquarters of slave traders William Beckford, a two-time Lord Mayor, and the MP Sir John Cass.

City Corporation members will now consider the findings of the report and consider its response

The report can be viewed online at www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/tteap