Editing South Sea Company (section)

=== The slave trade ===
[[File:Slavers-4496.jpg|thumb|African slaves taken aboard a slave ship]]

The [[Treaty of Utrecht]] of 1713 granted Britain an ''[[Asiento de Negros]]'' lasting 30 years to supply the Spanish colonies with 4,800 slaves per year. Britain was permitted to open offices in [[Buenos Aires]], [[Caracas]], [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]], [[Havana]], [[Panama]], [[Portobelo, Colón|Portobello]] and [[Veracruz (city)|Vera Cruz]] to arrange the [[Atlantic slave trade]]. One ship of no more than 500 tons could be sent to one of these places each year (the ''Navío de Permiso'') with general trade goods. One quarter of the profits were to be reserved for the King of Spain. There was provision for two extra sailings at the start of the contract. The Asiento was granted in the name of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] and then contracted to the company.<ref>Carswell, pp. 64–66</ref>

By July the company had arranged contracts with the [[Royal African Company]] to supply the necessary African slaves to Jamaica. Ten pounds was paid for a slave aged over 16, £8 for one under 16 but over 10. Two-thirds were to be male, and 90% adult. The company trans-shipped 1,230 slaves from Jamaica to America in the first year, plus any that might have been added (against standing instructions) by the ship's captains on their own behalf. On arrival of the first cargoes, the local authorities refused to accept the Asiento, which had still not been officially confirmed there by the Spanish authorities. The slaves were eventually sold at a loss in the West Indies.<ref>Carswell, pp. 65–66</ref>

In 1714 the government announced that a quarter of profits would be reserved for [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] and a further 7.5% for a financial adviser, Manasseh Gilligan. Some company board members refused to accept the contract on these terms, and the government was obliged to reverse its decision.<ref>Carswell, p. 67</ref>

Despite these setbacks, the company continued, having raised £200,000 to finance the operations. In 1714 2,680 slaves were carried, and for 1716–17, 13,000 more, but the trade continued to be unprofitable. An import duty of 33 [[pieces of eight]] was charged on each slave (although for this purpose some slaves might be counted only as a fraction of a slave, depending on quality). One of the extra trade ships was sent to Cartagena in 1714 carrying woollen goods, despite warnings that there was no market for them there, and they remained unsold for two years.<ref>Carswell, pp. 66–67</ref>

It has been estimated that the company transported a little over 34,000 slaves with mortality losses comparable to its competitors, showing that slave trading was a significant part of the company's work, and that it was carried out to the standards of the day.<ref name=":0" /> Its trading activities therefore offered a financial motivation for investment in the company.<ref name=":0" />