Letters found on eBay cast light on UK families who benefited from slavery

Researcher Malik Al Nasir bought historical documents while investigating his family history - and began building an archive

A bundle of letters discovered for sale on eBay by a man researching his roots has cast new light on the lives of prominent British families who amassed a fortune from slavery.

Documents detailing the affairs of 19th-century families linked to Sandbach, Tinne and Company, a business that dealt in enslaved people, cotton, sugar and coffee, were being traded online by collectors of rare stamps and postmarks.