THE Church of England has been “humbled by the reality” of its implication within the transatlantic slave trade, the Archbishop of York told a UN forum this week; but he said that scripture and the instance of Christ “give us hope for our world and hope that we will do higher”.
Archbishop Cottrell was speaking in New York on Monday, during a session of the United Nations’ Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, which was co-hosted by the Anglican Communion.
The Archbishop began his address with a Ghanaian proverb, which he had heard during a visit to Cape Coast Castle, where enslaved people were held before being transported across the Atlantic (Comment, 24 February 2023).
“Until the lion has told his story, the hunter will at all times be a hero,” the proverb says. Archbishop Cottrell told the gathering that he was there “to share the story of how this hunter has been humbled”.
“We within the Church of England have been humbled by the reality,” he said, referring to research that showed that Queen Anne’s Bounty, which was later amalgamated into the funds now managed by the Church Commissioners, had been invested within the South Sea Company.
In 2023, the Church Commissioners, which had instigated the research, announced their intention to launch a £100-million “impact investment fund” to speculate in communities affected by the legacy of the slave trade (News, 10 January 2023).
Some academics have questioned whether the Church profited from its investments within the South Sea Company, arguing that efforts were made to avoid economic exposure to transatlantic chattel slavery (Comment, 22 March 2024).
“This work that we’re engaged in is each deeply uncomfortable and deeply hopeful,” Archbishop Cottrell said on Monday.
“It is deeply uncomfortable because I’m here as a pacesetter within the Church that was involved in a most shameful, scandalous abuse and oppression of fellow human beings.
“It is deeply uncomfortable because slavery still exists in our world today, and it’s deeply uncomfortable since the legacy of transatlantic chattel enslavement still blights many individuals and lots of communities.
“But, sisters and brothers, additionally it is deeply hopeful, since the scriptures and the instance of Christ and people narratives of liberation that inspired enslaved people, encourage me and provides us hope for our world and hope that we will do higher.”
Continuing the theme of Ghanian proverb, Archbishop Cottrell said that, “in a way, we the hunters, we the slave traders, we the twisters of Christian tradition, have also been let out by this truth.
“It gives us a narrative about what it’s to be human, how we belong to at least one one other, and the way we inhabit this world together: the very values which are at the guts of the United Nations.”
These values, Archbishop Cottrell warned, are “at peril in our world today”, and he called for them to be reaffirmed.
The Bishop of Croydon, Dr Rosemarie Mallett, was a part of a panel last 12 months which expressed hope that other investors who had been involved historically within the slave trade could possibly be interested in adopt the Commissioners’ approach (4 March 2024).
Dr Mallett was also in New York on Monday for the UN forum, and spoke on a panel alongside representatives from Barbados, Jamaica, Ghana, and Kenya.
“The dialogue on the UN represents a latest phase of engagement and commitment from the Church of England, one rooted within the hope that — even after deep historical failure — reconciliation and justice are still possible,” she said.
On Wednesday, Archbishop Cottrell and Dr Mallett joined a prayer vigil on the Ark of the Return: a monument on the UN headquarters which honours victims of the slave trade.
