Bristol Quakers apologise for role in enslavement
Quakers in Bristol have issued a formal apology for their role in the transatlantic trafficking and chattel enslavement of more than 13 million Africans, as part of a growing Quaker movement towards reparation.
Bristol Area Quaker Meeting agreed the apology on 12 July, acknowledging that Quaker families in the city profited directly between the 17th and 19th centuries from the brutal trade whose harm is still felt today.
Research found more than 70 Bristol slaving voyages were funded by Quakers, trafficking over 21,000 people across the Atlantic.
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The unpaid forced labour of enslaved African people was the cornerstone of the 'economy of enslavement' which made our city and our country wealthy
- Bristol Quakers
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At least four Bristol Quaker families owned plantations, and some brought enslaved African children back to Bristol to serve them.
"The unpaid forced labour of enslaved African people was the cornerstone of the 'economy of enslavement' which made our city and our country wealthy and opened the way for three centuries of colonial exploitation," the apology says.
"We recognise that the ruthless plunder of people and nature, and the gross inequalities of the current global economy, are rooted in this shameful history."
British Quakers condemned enslavement from 1727, but the minute was widely ignored.
This apology comes as the national Quaker reparation working group's report to Yearly Meeting last week lays bare Quaker ties to enslavement and colonialism.
These include land seized from indigenous peoples in North America, and enslaved-labour conditions on São Tomé cocoa plantations supplying Cadbury and Rowntree between 1886 and 1909.
The national group is developing proposals for reparative actions, including financial compensation, in collaboration with people affected, including Quakers and other religious groups and individuals, in Africa, the Caribbean, and Britain.
Bristol is the second British Quaker meeting to issue such an apology after Lancashire Quakers in 2025.
Bristol Quaker Julia Bush said: "This is not just ancient history. We continue to see the consequences in the present day."
"The harms include systemic inequality, racism and unhealed trauma, and run very deep," she said. "It's not only about money."
Bristol Quakers have already given £5,000 towards a memorial for Fanny Coker, an African woman enslaved by the Pinney family who worked for most of her life in Bristol. Further funding decisions must be led by those affected, Quakers say.
The apology will be shared with black-led organisations, including the Bristol Legacy Foundation and Black South West Network, and displayed in Bristol's meeting houses.
The national working group's conference, Truth and Repair: Our Quaker Journey Towards Justice, takes place on 23 October at Friends House and online.