Adam Smith’s brief history of the Royal African Company

Nota bene: Today’s post contains another installment of my multi-part review of Adam Smith’s 1784 pamphlet Additions and Corrections to the First and Second Editions of Dr. Adam Smith’s Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith traces the sordid history of the Royal African Company in paragraph 20 of the last part of his 1784 pamphlet (Part #13). But what is most revealing about Smith’s little history lesson is what he leaves out. For me, the following three omissions stand out: Omission #1: The Royal African Company (RAC) was first led by James Stuart, Duke of York (see here, for example), who later became King James II in 1685 (pictured below). Omission #2: The RAC was initially awarded a royal monopoly on English trade with West Africa when it was re-established and re-chartered in 1672. Omission #3: The RAC shipped more enslaved African men, women, and children to the Americas than any other single institution during the entire period of the…