Black History Month

We were privileged to have many of our Black and Minority Ethnic colleagues, in both the Corporation and market, take time to share their views and engage in open and honest conversations about Lloyd’s, slavery and race. 

These were facilitated by Dr Jonathan Ashong-Lamptey, an independent diversity and inclusion in the workplace expert, and myself. Our focus was on John Julius Angerstein (1732-1823), who has been heralded as both the founder and ‘Father of Lloyd’s’ and was our first case study on a key figure from our past with links to slavery. Our Focus Group colleagues made it clear that whilst they wanted Lloyd’s to acknowledge and examine its past, they also wanted more focus on their lived experiences today in the insurance sector and Lloyd’s market.

We will continue to progress our research collaboration with Black Beyond Data at Johns Hopkins University. 

We have started to update our content on lloyds.com and you can follow the links on the Transatlantic Slave Trade page to an article written by Dr Nick Draper, former Director of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership, University College London, on ‘Lloyd’s, Marine Insurance and Slavery’ which brilliantly summarises the macro view of Lloyd’s involvement with slavery.

A research report into John Julius Angerstein has been published. He was both a highly successful underwriter and broker and a member of what was then known as ‘Lloyd’s Coffee House Committee’, known for his philanthropy. 38 paintings from his collection formed the foundation of the National Gallery’s Collection.

There is no evidence that Angerstein was a slave trader or slave owner, but we are now beginning to understand how the City of London provided the complex and sophisticated financial networks that facilitated - and in turn drew strength from- the slave trade and slave economy. Angerstein is representative of the majority in the City who were entwined with the slave economy, and he directly benefited from slavery through his marine insurance business, on which he founded his career and fortune.

Through our research we’ve explored the role he and others played in setting up what was then known as the ‘New Lloyd’s Coffee House’ and have discovered several myths that have developed overtime about his reportedly seminal role in Lloyd’s history. As a result of this and his connections to the slave economy, which all at Lloyd’s are deeply sorry for, we have concluded his title ‘The Father of Lloyd’s’ is no longer appropriate or relevant. We have always committed to provide a more transparent and comprehensive narrative around Lloyd’s links to slavery and, therefore have decided to re-display Angerstein to show the wider context he operated in. You can see this on Gallery 11 and in the Old Library in the Lloyd’s building. Read further details of our research in our online report.

The Focus Groups also highlighted the fact that no black history is represented in the Lloyd’s building. 

Although we have a long way to go with this, we are now displaying an important painting from the Lloyd’s Collection to celebrate Black talent by one of the most significant living painters, Sir Frank Bowling, who was born in British Guiana in 1934. Lloyd’s purchased his ’Empire Day Picture’ of 1988 from the Whitechapel Art Gallery Open of the same year. 

We have a number of events around the Lloyd’s building throughout Black History Month.