
Who: The Society of the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG)
What: A British trading company involved in the transatlantic slave trade.
When:1660
Details: The Royal African Company was granted a monopoly on the British trade of
enslaved Africans. It was heavily involved in the capture, transport, and sale of African slaves to the American colonies. The company's activities were justified by racist ideologies that viewed Black people as commodities and inherently inferior to
Europeans. The company's trade routes and economic interests also facilitated the
spread of pseudoscientific theories about racial differences.
Why and How It Was Racist: The Royal African Company's operations were based
on the dehumanization and exploitation of Black people, driven by a belief in racial superiority. Its economic activities and support of related scientific research reinforced systemic racism and the transatlantic slave trade.
Sources:
Carlos, A. M., & Kruse, J. B. (1996). The decline of the Royal African Company: fringe firms and the role of the charter. Economic History Review, 291-313.
Pettigrew, W. A. (2013). Freedom's Debt: The Royal African Company and the Politics of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1672-1752. UNC Press Books.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/the-royal-african-company-supplying-slaves-to- jamestown.htm
Searle, A., & Vine, E. (Eds.). (n.d.). The correspondence of The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. EMLO. http://emlo-portal.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/collections/?catalogue=society-for-the-propagation-of-the-gospel
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