John Locke’s Royal African Company and Bahamas Adventurer Slave Stock

This paper corrects Maurice Cranston’s account of Locke’s involvement in the slave trade by providing new evidence about how he came into possession of shares in the Royal African Company (RAC) and the Bahamas Adventurers (BA). Rather than direct personal investment, all the shares he came to own were transferred from third parties. Beginning in February 1672, Locke recorded in his personal ledger numerous payments made on his behalf to these companies by Thomas Stringer, Ashley Cooper’s steward. Evidence from Locke’s unpublished manuscripts suggests he was probably paid in RAC shares as compensation for his work for the Lords Proprietors of Carolina and the Bahamas. He may also have received shares as reimbursement for disbursements made from his personal funds while serving as Treasurer for the Council of Trade. This paper also examines the context of Locke’s abrupt divestment. It is puzzling that he sold all his shares just when the RAC was poised to become profitable. Three factors may explain his decision to divest: financial pressures caused by the stop of the Exchequer, political conflict with Charles II, or moral misgivings about racialized slavery.