Royally awkward: King Charles III’s ancestors were involved in the slave trade
Recent research has uncovered evidence that direct ancestors of King Charles III and the royal family were involved in the buying and exploitation of enslaved people on tobacco plantations in Virginia.
Recent research has uncovered evidence that direct ancestors of King Charles III and the royal family were involved in the buying and exploitation of enslaved people on tobacco plantations in Virginia.
The newly discovered document reveals that a direct ancestor of the king purchased at least 200 enslaved people from the Royal African Company (RAC) in 1686.
The document instructs a ship’s captain to deliver the enslaved Africans to Edward Porteus, a tobacco plantation owner in Virginia, and two other men.
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