A personal message from the Archbishop of Canterbury: “I have … an ancestral connection to the enslavement of people in Jamaica”

I have recently discovered that my biological father, the late Sir Anthony Montague Browne, had an ancestral connection to the enslavement of people in Jamaica and Tobago. His great, great grandfather was Sir James Fergusson, an owner of enslaved people at the Rozelle Plantation in St Thomas, Jamaica. 

While I sadly only discovered my relationship to Sir Anthony in 2016, three years after his death, I did have had the delight of meeting my half sister and her son. 

My recent trip to Jamaica has helped me to confront the legacies of enslavement in the Caribbean and the responsibility owed to those who still suffer from the effects of this evil trade. I thank those who have given their time to such tireless research in this field, many of whom are descendants of enslaved people. 

I reiterate the Church Commissioners’ commitment to a thorough and accurate research programme, in the knowledge that archives have far more to tell us about what has come before us – often in a very personal way. I give thanks to God for this journey towards healing, justice and repair, as we take the path that Jesus Christ calls us to walk.