1. Many journalists are asking what the Royal family has to do with colonialism. I'll just cover the basics. Elizabeth I gave her ships to English slave trading voyages by John Hawkins in the 1560s. Slave-trading didn't begin in earnest, though, till the reign of Charles II. 2. Elizabeth I also signed the 1600 East India Company charter which granted royal permission to trade in the East Indies. A later charter signed by Charles II granted royal permission for armies, territorial expansion & wealth transfer. The Company also lent money to the King.

1. This is one last call to support academic freedom.

The below happened on @BBCr4today. If the @nationaltrust report matters to you, and you're able to complain, I will post a complaints form below. Please read this short thread (1 of 4) 2. As the victim of a 12 month smear campaign against an academic (& an entire organization) whose crime was to draw the nation's attention to heritage sites' connections to the British Empire it is no longer solely my responsibility to defend myself & coordinate a response.