Humphry Morice

A three-quarter length oval portrait of Sir Humphry Morice, former Governor of the Bank of England.

The portrait shows him facing right, wearing a brown silk jacket and white neck tie.

Morice was born in 1671. He was a British merchant, MP, and Governor of the Bank of England from 1727-1729. After his death, it was discovered that while in office he had cheated the Bank of England out of £29,000 (around £6.9 million today).

He also had extensive links to the slave trade and has been nicknamed the ‘Prince of Slavers’ by modern academics. Morice made money through the West African slave trade, transporting enslaved West Africans to plantations in North America and the Caribbean.