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London and the transatlantic slave trade, 18th-century peak |
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| © National Maritime Museum, London |
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| Repro ID: D4847_1 |
| Description: This coat of arms stood in the lobby of the Company's premises at the corner of Bishopsgate and Threadneedle Street. The Company was formed in 1711 with the aim of monopolising trade, including that in slaves, with Spanish America. It evolved into a finance company, but its schemes involved corruption at the heighest levels of the government. After a period of frenzied speculation the price of its stock collapsed in 1720 in what was Britain's greatest financial scandal. Liquidation however proved too complex and until 1733 the Company was involved in the Greenland whale fisheries. Thereafter it only issued annuities and was finally wound up in 1856. |
| Creator: Robert Jones |
| Date: 1711-12 |
| Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London | |
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