After three years of research, historians have compiled the 'Register of British Slave Traders,' a database identifying individuals who invested in the financing of ships involved in the transatlantic slave trade. The project covers the period from the 16th to the 19th century, a span of nearly 250 years during which Britain played a central role in the trafficking of enslaved African people.

The register defines a 'slave trader' specifically as an individual who provided direct financial backing for a voyage with the expectation of earning a profit from the transport of enslaved people. By documenting these biographical details, the researchers intend to create a clearer historical record of the people who funded the industry. According to the research team, the database accounts for the roughly 3 million African men, women, and children who were forcibly transported across the Atlantic on British-financed vessels. The project serves as a scholarly effort to map the financial networks that underpinned the slave trade, moving beyond general historical narratives to identify specific investors and their roles in the system.