Sir Humphry Morice
Merchant, slave trader, governor of the Bank of England and fraudster
Morice's father was a London merchant and Morice took over the business when he was about 18, and traded with Africa, the West Indies and the British North American colonies. By the early 1700s, Morice was one of London's leading slave traders at a time when the city was Britain's largest slaving port. Charles II had given the Royal African Company the monopoly on the slave trade in 1672, but in 1698 parliament opened the trade to everyone. This allowed independent operators such as Morice to get in on the trade and he campaigned vigorously to prevent the Royal African Company regaining its monopoly. In 1708 and 1726, when the Board of Trade made enquiries into the African slave trade, Morice and others argued on behalf of the independent traders. Morice remained a respected authority on the African and West Indian trade.
Morice sold many of his captives within Africa to the Portuguese instead of sending them across the Atlantic, but some did go to the British North American colonies of Virginia and Maryland, or to Jamaica. He was closely involved in all aspects of his business, often giving detailed orders to his ships' captains. He was also interested in the health of the human cargoes his ships carried and Morice's ships often carried surgeons half a century before parliament made their inclusion a requirement. However, this was more a case of good business practice than through any humanitarian concerns - the number of captives who died on the notorious middle passage in Morice's ships were about one half of the average of the time.
Morice was MP for Newport between 1713 and 1722. His appointment as governor of the Bank of England (1727-1728) reflected his position as one of the country's leading businessmen. The Bank of England had been established in 1694 and made capital available to various 'adventurers' involved in the slave trade. That Morice was both the governor of the Bank and one of the biggest slave traders in the country reflected the fact that trading in enslaved Africans was no obstacle to respectability in the London merchant and banking community.
Morice died suddenly in 1731, apparently a wealthy man. But it was soon discovered that he had defrauded the Bank of England of more than £29,000 - in excess of £3 million in today's money. It was not until 43 years after his death that his financial affairs were settled and some of his creditors were never paid.
