British Crown emblem used to brand enslaved Africans, research finds

New research has documented that enslaved Africans were branded with a mark featuring the British Crown emblem and that 13,000 Britons financed the slave trade.

• The Register of British Slave Traders, led by Prof William Pettigrew, lists 13,000 individuals and hundreds of institutions that financed Britain's slave trade between 1563 and 1807.
• Dr Nicholas Radburn found branding records in South Sea Company archives at the British Library, including a 1714 letter instructing traders to brand enslaved Africans on the left shoulder to distinguish them from others' slaves.
• Buckingham Palace said King Charles has expressed a commitment to promoting understanding of slavery and is grateful to the researchers.
• Jamaica's government said it will raise a slavery reparations petition with King Charles, the country's head of state.