How Isaac Newton’s Wealth Was Built on Gold and the Shadows of Slavery
Newton’s financial success was tied to gold mined by enslaved people, a new book reveals.
In the corridors of the Royal Mint, where gold flowed like water into coin molds, Isaac Newton—the legendary scientist who revolutionized physics—was building his fortune. Yet, a new book reveals that Newton’s wealth, amassed during his tenure as master of the mint, had closer ties to the transatlantic slave trade than previously acknowledged.
According to this revelation, Newton is not just a groundbreaking thinker, but also a product of his time, deeply entwined with the grim realities of the worst form of human exploitation.
A Wealthy Scientist at the Royal Mint
When Isaac Newton took on the role of master of the mint in 1696, it marked a stark shift in his career. Once a modest academic earning £100 a year (about £36,000 in today’s terms) at Cambridge, Newton soon saw his income soar to nearly £3,500 annually—equivalent to £1.26 million today (or just over $50,000 a month). By the time of his death, his inventory of wealth included silver chamber pots, a mark of opulence in 18th-century England.
Yes, Newton was loaded.
But what fueled this extraordinary transformation? According to Ricardo’s Dream, a new book by Nat Dyer, it was gold—specifically, gold mined in Brazil by enslaved Africans. “I show, in part with his own correspondence, digitized by the Newton Project, that he benefited from gold primarily from Brazil mined by enslaved peoples,” Dyer told The Guardian.
During Newton’s 30 years at the Royal Mint, England minted approximately £14 million in gold coins—an astonishing amount, equivalent to what had been produced in the prior 136 years combined. Much of this gold came via Portugal, whose expanding mining operations in Brazil relied heavily on enslaved labor. British merchants trading in Lisbon received payments in gold, which then made its way to London to be minted. Newton, as master of the mint, earned a small fee for every coin produced, making him financially entangled with the slave trade required to mine gold in South America.
Newton enforced efficiency
Newton’s tenure at the Mint was marked by a mix of brilliance and authoritarianism. Determined to protect the integrity of Britain’s coinage, he rooted out internal corruption and enforced strict efficiency measures. Under his watch, Mint employees operated machines at near-mechanical speeds, and profits surged—so, too, did Newton’s unpopularity among the staff.
He pursued counterfeiters with relentless zeal, viewing forgery as a direct threat to the nation. Newton personally investigated criminal networks, sometimes employing spies to infiltrate their ranks. His efforts led to harsh punishments, with forgery often resulting in execution. His methods earned him both praise and scorn. One prisoner at Newgate branded Newton a “Rogue” and swore to shoot him if King James ever returned to power.
One surviving anonymous satirical verse from the time accused Newton of succumbing to greed:
The Principles by which Men move,
Are private interest, base Self-Love;
So far their Love or hate extends
As serves their own contracted Ends.
The Shadows Behind the Shine
Newton’s correspondence provides unambiguous evidence of his knowledge of the gold’s origins. In 1701, he wrote, “We can have no bullion but from the West Indies [South and Central America] belonging to Spain and Portugal.” Another letter, penned in 1717, described England’s west country as “full of Gold” from Portugal.
“He was at the very center of this gold rush,” Dyer explained. “The more gold that poured into the Tower of London, the richer he got.” Despite setbacks, including heavy losses in the infamous South Sea Bubble stock market crash, Newton died a wealthy man, his fortune deeply connected to the exploitation of enslaved people.
For historians like Prof. Leonardo Marques of Fluminense Federal University in Brazil, Newton’s financial links to slavery are not surprising. “Everyone involved with banking and finance in early 18th-century Britain in a sense was somehow connected to the history of slavery and the slave trade to Brazil,” Marques told The Guardian. Figures like John Locke and Charles Davenant, contemporaries of Newton, openly wrote about these economic dependencies.
Reconciling Genius with History
Newton’s entanglement with the slave trade may tarnish the pedestal upon which he stands, but scholars argue it doesn’t erase his contributions to science. “I don’t think this should radically change every aspect of what we think of Newton,” said Dyer. “He’s an epoch-defining thinker. But even the greatest scientists are part of their time.”
Newton’s story, as told in Ricardo’s Dream, challenges us to confront the uncomfortable intersections of genius and moral compromise. It reminds us that even the brightest minds operate within the constraints—and shadows—of their eras.
- Dyer, Nat (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 352 Pages – 12/01/2024 (Publication Date) – Bristol University Press (Publisher)
