Scientist and banker benefited from gold mined primarily by enslaved Africans in Brazil, book claims

Sir Isaac Newton, whose theory of gravity revolutionised science and who later rose to the upper echelons of London’s banking world, had closer financial ties to the transatlantic trade in enslaved people than was previously understood, a new book has claimed.

The book, Ricardo’s Dream, covers the life and work of David Ricardo, a contemporary of Newton who was a pioneer of economic theory and the wealthiest stock trader of his day. It also re-examines Newton’s time as master of the mint at the Bank of England, where the scientist wielded political influence and amassed vast personal wealth after leaving his academic position in Cambridge.