Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally has reaffirmed the Church of England's commitment to a £100 million slavery reparations fund during her pastoral visit to Ghana. The visit included a stop at Cape Coast Castle, a former British slave trading post.
Mullally, who was installed as the head of the Church of England in March, described her experience at the castle as deeply moving. She viewed the dungeons where enslaved people were held and the "door of no return," through which they were forced onto ships. "It completely throws you off balance and brings home the evil that was transatlantic slavery," she stated.
The castle, which came under British control in the 1660s, also houses a chapel situated above the dungeons. Mullally noted this as a "stark illustration of the way the church was involved in the slave trade." The Church of England has previously acknowledged its historical ties to the slave trade. Its missionary arm operated slave-farmed plantations in the Caribbean to finance the expansion of Anglicanism. Additionally, individual clergy members were slave owners, and the Church received significant donations from slave traders. Mullally's visit to Ghana is focused on themes of reparative justice. This engagement with historical sites of the slave trade underscores the Church's ongoing efforts to address its legacy.