@guardian: Have you connected these dots? This is one of Britain’s oldest hospitals and inside the Great Hall of St Barts North Wing extravagant commemorative boards of donors' names adorn the walls. Research titled the Register of British Slave Traders has revealed at least 50 people with deep financial ties to St Barts are directly linked to Britain’s transatlantic trafficking of enslaved African people. Among the names etched on to the boards is Sir Jeffrey Jeffreys, a London merchant who left an unspecified sum to the hospital in his will. Jeffreys was financially linked to 13 ships, including the 1694 Hannibal crossing. Which was one of the deadliest crossings in the history of the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans. The voyage’s mortality rate, close to 50%, far exceeded the roughly 33% high that historians have recorded for any other slaving ship. St Barts has acknowledged its links to slavery: Barts health NHS trust archives produced an official research guide in 2024 setting out the known history and how to investigate it further, though the trust has not commissioned a standalone enslavement report. But these connections don’t stop here – they run through the heart of London’s political structures. Watch this explainer with reporter Morgan Ofori to understand more – and to read our new investigation ‘Enslaving Nation’ tap the link in the bio.

The Guardian

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Region: GB

Sunday 27 September 2026 09:00:00 GMT