Biblical Studies and Theology. Andy Boakye has been part of a consultation group called The Spire Project which has been involved in providing critique, support, Biblical and theological contextualization and guidance to the Church Commissioners’ Fund of the Church of England as they begin to explore their culpability in the Enslavement and trade of African peoples. The Church Commissioners’ Fund was originally part of a conglomerate with the Queen Anne’s Bounty. The Bounty was originally set up to augment the salaries of poor clergy, but knowingly invested money in the South Sea Company, a shipping franchise whose sole purpose was to transport enslaved peoples to the West. The church profited from annuities which are the equivalent of £443 million in modern currency. Once all the additional dividends are collated, the total income received from all South Sea Company-related investments when it completely ceased trading in 1830 was £790,619 - this is the equivalent of £1.43 billion today. Click here for the press release or here for the full report.
