Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby reveals ancestor owned slaves in Jamaica

The Archbishop of Canterbury has revealed one of his ancestors owned slaves at a plantation in Jamaica.

Justin Welby has spoken out about the discovery and said a recent trip to the country “has helped me to confront the legacies of enslavement in the Caribbean”.

Mr Welby said his great, great, great grandfather Sir James Fergusson was an owner of enslaved people at the Rozelle Plantation in St Thomas, Jamaica.

In 2016, Mr Welby revealed that his biological father was the late Sir Anthony Montague Browne – Sir Winston Churchill’s last private secretary.

This had come as “a complete surprise” through DNA evidence, he said at the time, having believed his father was Gavin Welby, the man who raised him.

The Archbishop has now revealed the further discovery through his ancestry of links to the “evil trade” of slavery.

Sir James was given compensation when slavery was abolished.

Mr Welby, who had no relationship with Sir Anthony, did not receive any money from him while he was alive, or from his estate since his death.

He said: “I have recently discovered that my biological father, the late Sir Anthony Montague Browne, had an ancestral connection to the enslavement of people in Jamaica and Tobago.

“His great, great grandfather was Sir James Fergusson, an owner of enslaved people at the Rozelle Plantation in St Thomas, Jamaica.

“While I sadly only discovered my relationship to Sir Anthony in 2016, three years after his death, I did have had the delight of meeting my half sister and her son.

“My recent trip to Jamaica has helped me to confront the legacies of enslavement in the Caribbean and the responsibility owed to those who still suffer from the effects of this evil trade.

“I thank those who have given their time to such tireless research in this field, many of whom are descendants of enslaved people.”

The Church of England announced in January 2023 its work to address historic links to slavery, with a funding programme for investment, research and engagement to “address past wrongs”.

The initial £100 million investment fund was branded too small and slow in a report earlier this year, with an independent oversight group saying Church Commissioners had “embraced a target of £1 billion for a broader healing, repair and justice initiative with the fund at its centre”.

Mr Welby said: “I reiterate the Church Commissioners’ commitment to a thorough and accurate research programme, in the knowledge that archives have far more to tell us about what has come before us – often in a very personal way.

“I give thanks to God for this journey towards healing, justice and repair, as we take the path that Jesus Christ calls us to walk.”