Media interest

The project has, in its first weeks, excited considerable interest in the media. Notably, the front page story of the Financial Times of 27 June 2009, written by Carola Hoyos, highlighted the question of the links between the banking firm Rothschilds and the law firm Freshfields and compensation for slave-ownership. Click here to read the story.

The story brought forth responses from both companies: you can read Freshfield's here; Rothschild's issued a statement on 29 June 2009 stating:

"A story published in the Financial Times on 27 June stated that Nathan Mayer Rothschild, the founder of the British house of Rothschild, had an indirect link to the slave trade through a loan arrangement with the owner of an Antiguan estate in the 1830s.

Rothschild was not aware of the existence of this link until the FT brought it to our attention.

Nathan Mayer Rothschild was in fact a reformer and well known and prominent campaigner for equality and civil liberties in his day. He arranged a loan on behalf of the UK Government which accelerated the abolition of the slave trade by enabling the payment of some compensation to slave owners. The Rothschild family has always been on the side of those who needed help and support throughout its long history.

We greatly regret that Rothschild is linked in any way to the abhorrent institution of slavery. Rothschild as a firm strongly supports equal opportunities and human rights."

The Financial Times also carried a letter (30 June 2009) from Prof. Niall Ferguson, author of The World's Banker: A History of the House of Rothschild, arguing that Rothschilds gained less from slavery than from its abolition. Prof. Ferguson had earlier been quoted in the article of 27 June saying that the documents showed 'how pervasive slavery was in the structure of British wealth in 1830'.

You can also read and hear a brief discussion of the issues broadcast on Marketplace (part of US public radio) 21 July 2009 by clicking here.

NB: The project team is not responsible for the content of stories written by others and published in the media.