City firm Lloyd’s of London has said it will invest £40m in helping communities impacted by the slave trade.
Lloyd’s of London’ a prominent city firm’ has announced its intention to invest £40 million in initiatives aimed at supporting communities affected by the historical slave trade. This decision comes in the wake of an independent report that uncovered Lloyd’s of London 335-year-old involvement in facilitating the transatlantic slave trade.
The chairman of the firm expressed deep regret over its historical role in this dark chapter and expressed a firm commitment to addressing contemporary inequalities. However’ some campaign groups accused Lloyd’s of London of engaging in “reparations washing” and urged the company to do more to rectify past wrongs.
The year 2020 witnessed global protests following the tragic death of George Floyd’ an unarmed black man who died in police custody in the United States. These events placed mounting pressure on companies to confront their connections to slavery and to take action against racial disparities.
At that time’ Lloyd’s of London publicly acknowledged its historical ties to the slave trade and commissioned an independent report to investigate further. Notably’ the company had no editorial control over this review’ which was conducted by scholars from Johns Hopkins University in Liverpool and independently funded by the Mellon Foundation.
One of the professors involved in the study’ Alexandre White’ delved into the Lloyd’s of London archive’ examining records such as ledgers that detailed insurance policies for ships involved in the slave trade departing from Liverpool. The findings made it clear that Lloyd’s was an integral part of a complex financial network that enabled the transatlantic slave trade.
However’ the records offered limited information about the individuals who were captured and enslaved as a result of Lloyd’s of London activities. Mr. White explained that while insurers in the city of London may seem distant from the plantations’ ships’ and the brutal conditions along the African coast’ the financial systems developed at Lloyd’s played a crucial role in maintaining the institution of slavery.
The transatlantic slave trade stands as the largest forced migration in history’ with an estimated 12-15 million people forcibly taken from Africa between 1500 and 1800 to be used as enslaved labor in the Americas. Tragically’ over two million Africans lost their lives during the treacherous journey.
Mr. White concluded that the insurance of ships’ cargo’ and enslaved individuals significantly contributed to the growth of the transatlantic slave trade. He noted that subscribers to Lloyd’s’ including members of the market’s governing body’ had significant connections to this historical atrocity.
Lloyd’s of London’ founded in 1688’ is renowned as the world’s premier insurance market’ specializing in areas such as marine’ energy’ and political risk. In response to the independent report’ Chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown expressed profound remorse for the suffering caused by the firm’s historical involvement in the slave trade’ both in the past and its enduring impact today. He pledged to take action to address ongoing inequalities faced by black and ethnically diverse individuals.
The company has outlined a “comprehensive program of initiatives” designed to support individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds’ ensuring their progress from the classroom to the boardroom. Additionally’ they have committed approximately £12 million to enhance the recruitment and career advancement of Black’ Asian’ and Minority Ethnic (BAME) individuals in the commercial insurance industry.
Despite these measures’ some critics remain skeptical. Kehinde Andrews’ a Professor of Black Studies at the University of Birmingham’ deemed Lloyd’s of London actions a “PR exercise” and “frankly offensive.” He argued that genuine efforts should include reparations for the descendants of the enslaved’ rather than just diversity schemes.
The Runnymede Trust’ a race equality think tank’ acknowledged Lloyd’s of London willingness to acknowledge its past mistakes but questioned the company’s commitment to diversity. They highlighted the ethnicity pay gap within Lloyd’s of London and called for active anti-racist policies that address income and pay inequalities.
