Black history.
British history.

Explore ancient societies, kingdoms, learning, service and community life across Africa, the Caribbean and Britain.

When the timeline has keyboard focus, use Left and Right to move between dates, Home for the beginning and End for the latest dates.

1. Africa

   c. 6000 BCE onwards

   Rock-art dates are approximate.

   Artists record life in the Sahara

   At Tassili n’Ajjer, in present-day Algeria, paintings and engravings preserve thousands of years of human experience. Images of people, cattle and wild animals record societies living through major environmental changes. This art offers evidence of livelihoods and creativity long before later states and empires; its different phases cannot be reduced to one date.

   Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗
   01 / 93

2. Caribbean

   c. 5900 BCE

   Approximate archaeological date

   Early communities at Banwari Trace

   People lived at Banwari Trace, in present-day Trinidad, thousands of years before European colonisation. Excavated shells, animal remains and layers of occupation record how they used the local environment. Modern dating places the earliest studied deposits at approximately 5900 BCE, making this one of the Caribbean’s oldest known archaeological sites.

   Source: Latin American Antiquity ↗
   02 / 93

3. Caribbean

   c. 4000 BCE

   Approximate; settlement dates vary by island

   Voyagers establish island communities

   Archaeological evidence places early communities in Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico around this period. Their histories involved sea crossings, stone tools and connections between islands. Research links these Indigenous populations with Central and northern South America, although the precise routes and sequence of migrations remain subjects of debate.

   Source: Nature: Caribbean archaeological and genetic research ↗
   03 / 93

4. Africa

   c. 3100 BCE

   Egypt develops a unified kingdom

   By about 3100 BCE, communities along the Egyptian Nile had been united under a single king. Growing towns, religious institutions and powerful rulers shaped this early state. Ceremonial objects associated with Narmer and the Scorpion King preserve evidence of royal authority. Egypt’s beginnings belong within the wider, interconnected history of the African Nile Valley.

   Source: Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford ↗
   04 / 93

5. Africa

   c. 2500 BCE

   Kerma grows into a Nubian capital

   Founded around 2500 BCE in present-day Sudan, Kerma became the capital of a powerful Nubian kingdom. Its city contained a royal palace, workshops, houses and a religious district dominated by the great mudbrick monument known as the western deffufa. Archaeology reveals an organised African urban society whose rulers maintained independence from neighbouring Egypt for centuries.

   Read the article →: Kerma grows into a Nubian capital Source: Swiss Archaeological Mission at Kerma ↗
   05 / 93

6. Africa

   c. 1500 BCE onwards

   Terracotta figures appear later, around 900 BCE.

   Nok communities farm and create

   Archaeological research dates the emergence of the Nok culture in central Nigeria to around 1500 BCE. Early communities grew crops including pearl millet. The elaborate terracotta figures associated with Nok appeared later, around 900 BCE. Farming, pottery and sculpture reveal a long history of skilled production, although the figures’ original purposes are still being investigated.

   Source: Goethe University Frankfurt ↗
   06 / 93

7. Africa

   9th century BCE

   The city’s foundation precedes its imperial expansion.

   Carthage connects North Africa and the Mediterranean

   Founded by Phoenician settlers on the Gulf of Tunis, Carthage developed into a major Mediterranean trading power from the sixth century BCE. Its ports connected North Africa with communities across the sea. The city’s history includes commerce, craftsmanship and political rivalry, showing how deeply African societies participated in the ancient Mediterranean world.

   Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗
   07 / 93

8. Africa

   8th–7th centuries BCE

   Kushite rulers govern Nubia and Egypt

   Rulers of Kush extended their power north from Nubia into Egypt, establishing the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. Kings including Piye and Taharqa governed a Nile Valley realm with strong connections to Napata in present-day Sudan. Their temples, royal monuments and pyramids reveal a distinctive African state that adapted Egyptian traditions to its own political and religious purposes.

   Read the article →: Kushite rulers govern Nubia and Egypt Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
   08 / 93

9. Caribbean

   c. 500–300 BCE

   A regional transition, not one founding event

   Pottery and farming reshape island life

   Intensive pottery production and agriculture became increasingly important in Caribbean communities. People with connections to northeastern South America moved through the island chain, alongside local cultural developments. Archaeologists call this broad transition the Ceramic Age. It unfolded over time: the islands did not share a single culture or change on one fixed date.

   Source: Nature: Caribbean archaeological and genetic research ↗
   09 / 93

10. Caribbean

    c. 400 BCE–AD 500

    Approximate period of material evidence

    The Caribbean Sea connects communities

    The sea carried goods, ideas and relationships between Indigenous communities. Ceremonial seats known as duhos show links with South America during this period. Their designs suggest that exchange included ideas about authority and social life as well as objects. Caribbean island societies belonged to wider networks long before European ships arrived.

    Source: Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian ↗
    10 / 93

11. Africa

    3rd century BCE onwards

    Meroë becomes a centre of Kushite power

    From the third century BCE, most Kushite royal burials took place at Meroë. Its pyramids, palaces, temples and workshops formed part of a powerful African kingdom. Water reservoirs supported settlements beyond the Nile, while ironworking and trade contributed to its wealth. Meroë developed from earlier Kushite traditions rather than appearing as an entirely separate civilisation.

    Read the article →: Meroë becomes a centre of Kushite power Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗ Further context: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology ↗
    11 / 93

12. Africa

    25–20 BCE

    Conflict ended with negotiations in 21/20 BCE.

    Amanirenas, resistance and diplomacy

    Queen Amanirenas is associated with Kush’s campaigns against Roman power in the southern Nile Valley. Fighting was followed by negotiations with Augustus in 21/20 BCE. The agreement limited Roman territorial control and removed payments demanded from Kush. Her story preserves evidence of African female sovereignty, military resistance and diplomacy, while details of the surviving accounts remain debated.

    Read the article →: Amanirenas, resistance and diplomacy Source: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology ↗ Further context: British Museum: Hamadab stela ↗
    12 / 93

13. Africa

    1st century CE onwards

    Aksum links Africa and the Red Sea

    From the first century CE, Aksum grew into a trading empire centred in what are now Ethiopia and Eritrea. Through the Red Sea port of Adulis, it connected African, Arabian and Mediterranean markets. Monumental buildings, inscriptions and coinage testify to a state whose power and cultural connections extended far beyond its highland capital.

    Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    13 / 93

14. Britain

    AD 253–258

    North African connections on Hadrian’s Wall

    An altar dated AD 253–258 records the Unit of Aurelian Moors at Aballava, now Burgh-by-Sands. The unit’s name connects Roman Britain with North Africa, although it cannot establish the origins or appearance of every soldier who served in it.

    Read the article →: North African connections on Hadrian’s Wall Source: Roman Inscriptions of Britain ↗ Further context: North East Museums ↗
    14 / 93

15. Africa

    c. AD 300–1200

    Approximate span; early origins are uncertain.

    Ghana (Wagadu) and the gold trade

    Ghana, also known as Wagadu, developed among Soninke-speaking communities in the western Sahel. Its rulers gained wealth by taxing trade, including the exchange of West African gold for Saharan salt. The empire lay far north of the present-day country of Ghana, which later adopted its name. Its earliest beginnings remain uncertain.

    Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    15 / 93

16. Africa

    4th century CE

    Ezana’s conversion is generally dated around 330 CE.

    Aksum’s ruler adopts Christianity

    In the fourth century, Aksum’s ruler Ezana adopted Christianity. Coins carrying Christian crosses replaced earlier religious symbols, offering material evidence of the change. Royal inscriptions in Greek, Ge’ez and Sabaean also reveal a multilingual African court. Christian institutions subsequently became central to Ethiopian history, while Aksum’s architecture influenced later churches and royal traditions.

    Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    16 / 93

17. Africa

    6th century CE

    Christian kingdoms flourish in Nubia

    During the sixth century, the Nubian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alwa adopted Christianity. Centres such as Faras, Dongola and Soba developed religious and political traditions of their own. Surviving cathedral paintings, pottery and architectural remains show a rich medieval African culture shaped by local creativity and exchanges with neighbouring Christian and Muslim societies.

    Source: Poznań Archaeological Museum ↗ Further context: National Museum in Warsaw ↗
    17 / 93

18. Africa

    AD 700s–800s

    Approximate early period, not an exact founding date.

    Kanem links Lake Chad and the Sahara

    Kanem emerged around Lake Chad and became part of the long history of Kanem-Bornu. Connections with North Africa placed this region within wider African networks. Archaeologists combine settlement remains, oral histories and written records to investigate its early development, including contacts with other parts of West and northeastern Africa.

    Source: German Archaeological Institute ↗
    18 / 93

19. Africa

    AD 700s

    Early mosque and teaching traditions; foundation dates vary.

    Al-Zaytuna: learning in Tunis

    Al-Zaytuna in Tunis grew from an early mosque into a major centre of scholarship. The university's history dates teaching to 737, while accounts of the mosque's foundation vary. Over later centuries, scholars taught religious law, language and other subjects here. Its educational institutions developed through successive reforms over a long history.

    Source: Université Ez-Zitouna: institutional history ↗ Further context: Tunisia's Agency for the Development of Heritage ↗
    19 / 93

20. Caribbean

    By about AD 800

    Approximate; cassava identification is tentative

    Lucayan food knowledge reaches the Bahamas

    Tiny stone tools from the Three Dog settlement on San Salvador preserve traces of maize, peppers and possibly cassava. This evidence connects early Lucayan communities with plant knowledge carried from Cuba or Hispaniola. It reveals a varied diet and the movement of crops across the sea during the settlement of the central Bahamas.

    Source: Latin American Antiquity ↗
    20 / 93

21. Africa

    859

    Traditional date of the mosque’s foundation.

    Al-Qarawiyyin: centuries of higher learning

    Al-Qarawiyyin’s mosque in Fez is traditionally dated to 859 and credited to Fatima al-Fihri. It grew into a major centre for religious scholarship and Arabic learning, attracting students and teachers. Its long educational history developed over centuries: the foundation date belongs to the mosque, and should not imply that a modern university already existed in its present form.

    Source: Al-Qarawiyyin University: institutional history ↗ Further context: UNESCO: Medina of Fez ↗
    21 / 93

22. Africa

    970–972

    Dates refer to the mosque’s construction and opening.

    Al-Azhar: scholarship in Fatimid Cairo

    Founded as a mosque in Fatimid Cairo in 970–972, al-Azhar developed into a major centre of scholarship. Its scholars taught religious law, Arabic and other subjects, attracting learners from beyond Egypt. The institution evolved over centuries, with substantial modern reforms. Its medieval beginnings demonstrate Africa’s long history of organised higher learning.

    Source: Al-Azhar: institutional history ↗ Further context: Al-Azhar University: educational development ↗
    22 / 93

23. Africa

    AD 1000s

    Rise and expansion during the eleventh century.

    The Almoravid empire

    The Almoravids built a major Amazigh, or Berber, Muslim empire centred on Marrakesh. Their rule eventually extended across parts of the Sahara, Morocco, Algeria and al-Andalus in Iberia. Control of routes and ports connected African and Mediterranean economies, while their courts supported architecture, textiles and skilled craftsmanship.

    Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    23 / 93

24. Africa

    c. 1100–1450

    Main period of monumental building and occupation.

    Great Zimbabwe: a city built in stone

    African builders created Great Zimbabwe's remarkable stone walls, enclosures and royal spaces. The city became a centre of a powerful state associated with ancestors of today's Shona communities. Farming, cattle and trade supported its people; imported glass beads and ceramics reveal connections reaching through the East African coast to distant markets.

    Read the article →: Great Zimbabwe: a city built in stone Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗
    24 / 93

25. Africa

    c. 1150

    Period of consolidation, not the movement's founding.

    The Almohads and centres of learning

    The Almohads replaced Almoravid power across Morocco and much of al-Andalus. This Amazigh-led dynasty governed from Marrakesh and Seville, where courts became centres of Islamic learning. Its architectural legacy includes monumental mosques, city walls and minarets, showing how political authority, religious reform and artistic ideas travelled between Africa and Iberia.

    Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    25 / 93

26. Africa

    12th–13th centuries

    The church complex developed over time.

    Zagwe Ethiopia’s churches at Lalibela

    At Lalibela, in Ethiopia’s highlands, builders carved an extraordinary complex of churches directly from rock. Their construction is traditionally associated with King Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty. Linked by trenches and passages, the churches expressed a vision of a new Jerusalem and continue to serve as places of worship. The complex reflects medieval Ethiopian religious, artistic and engineering knowledge.

    Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗ Further context: UNESCO: Lalibela and the Zagwe dynasty ↗
    26 / 93

27. Africa

    c. 1200–1500

    A period of artistic flourishing; the settlement is older.

    Ife: art, city life and sacred kingship

    Ife, in present-day southwestern Nigeria, flourished as an artistic centre. Artists created striking naturalistic heads and figures in terracotta, metal and stone. The city also held deep religious and political significance within Yoruba traditions. Its celebrated sculpture belongs to a much longer history of settlement and urban life at Ife.

    Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    27 / 93

28. Africa

    From c. 1200

    Approximate beginning of the Oba dynasty; earlier rulers preceded it.

    The Obas of Benin and the royal craft guilds

    By the thirteenth century, the dynasty of Obas governed the Edo kingdom from Benin City in present-day Nigeria. Palace guilds developed highly skilled work in metal, ivory and wood. These objects recorded authority, honoured ancestors and served royal ceremonies. Benin's political and artistic traditions grew over centuries before European colonial conquest.

    Source: National Museums Scotland ↗
    28 / 93

29. Caribbean

    c. AD 1200–1500

    Approximate period of construction and use.

    Caguana: ceremony, art and ball games

    At Caguana in Puerto Rico, Taíno communities created an extensive ceremonial centre with stone-lined ball courts, plazas and carved stones. The site records organised gatherings, spiritual life and skilled construction before Spanish colonisation. Its surviving layout offers evidence of the social and political relationships that brought communities together through ceremony and games.

    Source: U.S. National Park Service (PDF) ↗
    29 / 93

30. Africa

    c. 1220–1300

    Approximate period of the hilltop capital.

    Mapungubwe: gold and a southern African kingdom

    Mapungubwe Hill became the centre of a kingdom near the meeting of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers. Its rulers lived above surrounding settlements, while farmers, herders and craftspeople sustained a wider community. Gold objects and imported goods reveal wealth and connections with Indian Ocean trading networks long before European colonisation.

    Source: South African National Parks ↗ Further context: UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗
    30 / 93

31. Africa

    c. 1230–1235

    Conventional approximate dating; oral accounts differ in detail.

    Sundiata and the rise of Mali

    Sundiata Keita, also called Sunjata, united allies against Soso power and helped establish the Mali empire. His life survives through written history and the changing performances of Mande oral historians. Mali grew into a major West African power, drawing strength from regional alliances, farming and the exchange of goods across the Sahara.

    Read the article →: Sundiata and the rise of Mali Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    31 / 93

32. Africa

    AD 1300s

    Early kingdom period; no single founding year is established here.

    Kongo and its capital, Mbanza Kongo

    By the fourteenth century, the Kingdom of Kongo was developing around a capital at Mbanza Kongo, in present-day Angola. Royal residences, courts, sacred places and burial grounds organised the city's life. It was already a prosperous African political and spiritual centre when Portuguese visitors arrived during the following century.

    Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗
    32 / 93

33. Africa

    1324–1325

    Mansa Musa's pilgrimage

    Mali's ruler Mansa Musa travelled to Mecca through Cairo, where his spending and gifts of gold made a powerful impression. The journey helped publicise Mali's wealth across the Mediterranean world. Musa also supported mosques and scholarship at home, connecting West African political power with wider networks of Islamic learning.

    Read the article →: Mansa Musa's pilgrimage Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗ Further context: The Metropolitan Museum of Art: trans-Saharan gold trade ↗
    33 / 93

34. Africa

    1331–1332

    Kilwa and the Swahili trading cities

    The traveller Ibn Battuta visited Kilwa during its period of great prosperity. This Swahili city, off today's Tanzanian coast, connected African gold and ivory with Indian Ocean markets. Its mosques, palaces and locally minted coins show an established urban culture shaped by African communities and sustained exchange with Arabia, India and China.

    Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗
    34 / 93

35. Africa

    AD 1400s–1500s

    A period of flourishing scholarship, not a university founding date.

    Timbuktu and Sankore: a world of learning

    Scholarly families and teachers made Timbuktu a renowned centre of Islamic learning. Students studied with individual masters, while books circulated through teaching, copying and trade. Sankore and the city's other mosques belonged to this intellectual world. Often called the University of Sankore, its higher learning was organised through scholars and family networks.

    Read the article →: Timbuktu and Sankore: a world of learning Source: Timothy Cleaveland, The Meanings of Timbuktu ↗ Further context: UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗
    35 / 93

36. Caribbean

    The 1400s

    A broad period, not the beginning of Taíno history

    Taíno societies and political leadership

    On Hispaniola, Taíno communities formed chiefdoms known as cacicazgos, with regional leaders called caciques. Women as well as men could exercise political authority. Farming, trade, skilled craftwork and spiritual practices sustained these societies. Archaeology and early Spanish records illuminate their history, although colonial accounts require careful reading because they reflect outsiders’ assumptions.

    Source: Florida Museum of Natural History ↗
    36 / 93

37. Africa

    1464–1591

    Songhai expands from Gao

    Songhai became a major empire under Sunni Ali, whose forces used cavalry and riverboats to extend their power. Gao, Timbuktu and Djenné connected government, trade and learning along the Niger. Under the later ruler Askia Muhammad, scholars gained influential patrons. Moroccan invasion in 1591 broke the empire's power, although resistance continued.

    Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    37 / 93

38. Caribbean

    1492 and after

    Colonisation confronts an inhabited Caribbean

    Columbus’s arrival brought European ships into a region already home to diverse Indigenous peoples. Colonisation imposed forced labour, violence and devastating disease. Survivors maintained and adapted knowledge, traditions and family connections. Taíno heritage continues today: Caribbean history should not describe Indigenous peoples as simply vanishing when Europeans and Africans entered the story.

    Source: Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian ↗ Further context: Smithsonian: Caribbean encounters and island networks ↗
    38 / 93

39. Britain

    1504

    African women at Scotland’s royal court

    Records from 1504 place African women in the household of Lady Margaret, daughter of James IV, at Edinburgh Castle. Accounts of their clothing and shoes reveal their participation in Scottish court life. Their surviving stories show an African presence in Scotland long before the eighteenth century.

    Read the article →: African women at Scotland’s royal court Source: Historic Environment Scotland ↗
    39 / 93

40. Britain

    1507–1511

    John Blanke plays at the Tudor court

    A royal payment record names John Blanke as a trumpeter in 1507. Four years later, the Westminster Tournament Roll depicted him performing at Henry VIII’s court. Together, the written and visual records preserve evidence of a Black musician working within Tudor royal ceremony.

    Read the article →: John Blanke plays at the Tudor court Source: Historic Royal Palaces ↗
    40 / 93

41. Britain

    1597

    Mary Fillis is baptised in London

    Mary Fillis, who had come to England from Morocco, was baptised at St Botolph’s Aldgate in 1597. The parish clerk recorded details of her family and life. She worked in the household of seamstress Millicent Porter, placing her story within Elizabethan London’s everyday working communities.

    Read the article →: Mary Fillis is baptised in London Source: University of London ↗
    41 / 93

42. Africa

    AD 1600s

    A period of imperial expansion; Luba traditions have earlier roots.

    Luba: kingship, councils and historical memory

    The Luba empire expanded in Central Africa through alliances, tribute and conquest. Its political traditions combined sacred kingship with councils, while members of the mbudye association preserved and interpreted historical knowledge. Royal staffs, seats and other artworks helped express authority and connect rulers with remembered ancestors across a network of communities.

    Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    42 / 93

43. Africa

    AD 1600s–1700s

    A broad period of expansion, not the kingdom's founding.

    Oyo: a Yoruba empire

    From Oyo-Ile, rulers extended their influence across parts of present-day Nigeria and Benin. Cavalry, archers and relationships with tributary states helped build a major Yoruba empire. Court ceremonies, carved architecture and traditions associated with deities such as Shango expressed its political culture. Its expansion brought both cultural exchange and coercive rule.

    Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    43 / 93

44. Britain

    1625

    Cattelena’s possessions enter the record

    An inventory made after Cattelena’s death records the belongings of an African woman living in Almondsbury, near Bristol. Her possessions included a cow, which could provide income through milk and butter. The document preserves a rare glimpse of a Black woman’s rural life and property in seventeenth-century England.

    Read the article →: Cattelena’s possessions enter the record Source: Bristol Archives ↗
    44 / 93

45. Africa

    By c. 1650

    Lunda and Central African connections

    Lunda rulers developed a powerful state while adopting elements of Luba political and artistic traditions. By about 1650, trade routes linked the royal centre with the Atlantic coast. Later expansion connected copper-producing regions and routes towards eastern Africa. This history also included the traffic in enslaved people during the Atlantic slave-trade era.

    Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    45 / 93

46. Africa

    c. 1700

    Approximate period of consolidation and early expansion.

    Asante unites and expands

    Under Osei Tutu, Asante brought Akan states together and began building a large empire centred on Kumasi. Gold, cloth and the trade in enslaved people helped finance its power. Royal arts communicated political ideas through proverbs, precious materials and shared symbols, creating a distinctive culture whose traditions continue in Ghana.

    Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
    46 / 93

47. Britain

    1772

    22 June

    James Somerset wins a landmark legal case

    James Somerset challenged his detention on a ship bound for Jamaica. Lord Mansfield ruled that he could not lawfully be detained and forcibly taken out of England for sale. The judgment advanced challenges to enslavement, but it did not abolish slavery throughout the British Empire.

    Read the article →: James Somerset wins a landmark legal case Source: English Heritage ↗
    47 / 93

48. Britain

    1773

    Phillis Wheatley’s poetry is published in London

    Phillis Wheatley visited London in 1773, where supporters helped her secure publication of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. The volume appeared that year while she was still enslaved. Her writing reached readers across the Atlantic and challenged racist assumptions about African literary ability.

    Source: Senate House Library, University of London ↗
    48 / 93

49. Britain

    1774

    Ignatius Sancho votes in Westminster

    Westminster grocer Ignatius Sancho voted in the parliamentary election of 1774 and again in 1780. His participation forms part of a longer history of Black electoral activity: archival research also documents publican John London’s vote in 1749, when voting depended on restrictive local qualifications.

    Read the article →: Ignatius Sancho votes in Westminster Source: Newcastle University, ECPPEC project ↗
    49 / 93

50. Britain

    1787

    Cugoano demands an end to slavery

    Ottobah Cugoano published Thoughts and Sentiments in London, drawing on his experience of enslavement to attack the slave trade and slavery itself. He combined personal testimony with religious, philosophical and economic arguments. He called for immediate abolition and the emancipation of enslaved people, addressing Britain’s inhabitants directly.

    Read the article →: Cugoano demands an end to slavery Source: English Heritage ↗
    50 / 93

51. Britain

    1789

    Equiano publishes his autobiography

    Olaudah Equiano published The Interesting Narrative in London. His autobiography described enslavement, seafaring, religious belief and the purchase of his freedom. Published during the campaign against the slave trade, the book became a campaigning tool as Equiano travelled to promote it and argue for abolition.

    Read the article →: Equiano publishes his autobiography Source: University of Oxford, Faculty of English ↗
    51 / 93

52. Caribbean & Africa

    1795

    The West India Regiments are raised

    Britain raised eight West India Regiments to defend its Caribbean colonies. Their early ranks included African and Caribbean men purchased while enslaved, alongside other recruits. These soldiers became part of the British Army, but their service was entangled with slavery. In 1807, legislation freed serving Black soldiers who had been recruited as enslaved people.

    Source: National Army Museum ↗
    52 / 93

53. Caribbean

    1797

    Garifuna exile and cultural survival

    British forces expelled Garifuna people from St Vincent, known to them as Yurumein. Survivors reached Roatán and established communities along Central America’s Caribbean coast. Their history brings together African and Indigenous Caribbean ancestry. Language, music and collective memory sustained a distinct people across forced displacement and remain central to Garifuna identity.

    Source: Smithsonian Folklife Festival ↗ Further context: Garifuna Nation ↗
    53 / 93

54. Caribbean

    1 January 1804

    Haiti declares independence

    Following a revolution against slavery and colonial rule, Jean-Jacques Dessalines and fellow leaders proclaimed Haiti’s independence. People who had been enslaved helped create a sovereign Black state. The new country took an Indigenous name, linking its future to the island’s earlier history. Haiti’s struggle became a landmark in the history of emancipation and freedom.

    Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗ Further context: The Haitian Declaration of Independence ↗
    54 / 93

55. Britain

    1807

    Britain abolishes its transatlantic slave trade

    After sustained campaigning, Parliament prohibited British participation in the transatlantic trade in enslaved people. Black abolitionists had helped build the movement through testimony, publications and organising. The Act did not free people already enslaved in Britain’s colonies, where slavery continued.

    Source: UK Parliament Heritage Collections ↗
    55 / 93

56. Britain

    1825

    Ira Aldridge takes the London stage

    Ira Aldridge appeared as Othello at London’s Royalty Theatre under the stage name Mr Keene. He soon performed at the Royal Coburg Theatre too. Despite racist criticism, he developed a reputation with audiences and used the name African Roscius as a theatrical trademark.

    Read the article →: Ira Aldridge takes the London stage Source: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust ↗
    56 / 93

57. Africa

    1827

    College foundation; the Durham affiliation began in 1876.

    Fourah Bay College opens in Freetown

    Founded by the Church Missionary Society, Fourah Bay College became an influential centre of education in Sierra Leone. Its later affiliation with Durham University, beginning in 1876, supported degree study. Generations of African scholars and professionals passed through the college. Its history is one part of a much older and varied African educational landscape.

    Source: University of Sierra Leone ↗ Further context: Durham University ↗
    57 / 93

58. Britain

    1831

    Mary Prince publishes her account of slavery

    The History of Mary Prince brought a Black woman’s account of enslavement before British readers. Prince narrated her experiences to Susanna Strickland, with Thomas Pringle editing the text. Published three times in 1831, the book supported the campaign to end slavery in the British colonies.

    Read the article →: Mary Prince publishes her account of slavery Source: London Museum ↗
    58 / 93

59. Britain

    1833–1838

    Emancipation, compensation and compulsory apprenticeship

    Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act, which took effect in most British colonies in August 1834. The settlement allocated £20 million to enslavers, while many formerly enslaved people were compelled to continue working under an apprenticeship system. That system ended in 1838.

    Source: UK Parliament Heritage Collections ↗
    59 / 93

60. Britain

    1837

    James McCune Smith qualifies in Glasgow

    James McCune Smith completed his medical doctorate at the University of Glasgow, after gaining two earlier degrees there. American universities had rejected him because of his race. His Scottish education prepared him for medical practice in New York and a prominent place in Black intellectual life.

    Read the article →: James McCune Smith qualifies in Glasgow Source: University of Glasgow ↗
    60 / 93

61. Britain

    1848

    William Cuffay and the Chartist campaign

    London tailor William Cuffay was a leading organiser as Chartists renewed their demands for political reform in 1848. The movement sought votes for adult men, secret ballots and payment for MPs, connecting workplace grievances with the struggle over who could participate in Parliament.

    Read the article →: William Cuffay and the Chartist campaign Source: Medway Council Archives and Local Studies ↗
    61 / 93

62. Caribbean & Europe

    1855

    Mary Seacole provides care in the Crimea

    Jamaican-born Mary Seacole travelled independently to the Crimean War after unsuccessful efforts to join the official nursing service. With Thomas Day, she established the British Hotel near Balaklava, supplying food and medicine and caring for sick and injured soldiers. Her work combined practical healing, enterprise and personal courage close to the fighting.

    Read the article →: Mary Seacole provides care in the Crimea Source: English Heritage ↗ Further context: National Portrait Gallery ↗
    62 / 93

63. Britain

    1859

    Sarah Parker Remond campaigns and studies in Britain

    Sarah Parker Remond moved to England and lectured against slavery, later becoming involved in radical movements in London. She studied languages and liberal arts at Bedford College. Her years in Britain connected abolitionist campaigning with women’s education, before she turned towards nursing and medicine.

    Read the article →: Sarah Parker Remond campaigns and studies in Britain Source: University College London ↗
    63 / 93

64. Britain

    1898

    Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha reaches the concert stage

    Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast received its first performance at London’s Royal College of Music in November 1898. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s setting of Longfellow’s poetry became the opening part of a trilogy. In March 1900, he conducted the complete work at the Royal Albert Hall.

    Read the article →: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha reaches the concert stage Source: Royal Albert Hall Archive ↗
    64 / 93

65. Britain

    1913

    John Archer becomes mayor of Battersea

    Battersea councillors elected John Archer as mayor by a majority of one. A Liverpool-born photographer and local campaigner, he combined municipal responsibilities with wider Black political organising. His public work included borough charities, education and assistance for people seeking support through the local Board of Guardians.

    Read the article →: John Archer becomes mayor of Battersea Source: Wandsworth Heritage Service ↗
    65 / 93

66. East Africa

    1914–1918

    African soldiers and carriers in the First World War

    African soldiers fought on opposing sides during the East Africa campaign, while carriers moved the food, equipment and ammunition that armies needed. Many men were compelled to serve through colonial recruitment systems. Disease, hunger and fighting brought immense suffering to soldiers, labourers and civilians. Their experiences are central to understanding the war beyond Europe.

    Source: National Army Museum ↗ Further context: Timothy Parsons: research on African military service ↗
    66 / 93

67. Caribbean & overseas

    1915

    Caribbean volunteers join the British West Indies Regiment

    The British West Indies Regiment was formed from Caribbean volunteers during the First World War. Its battalions served in the Middle East and Europe, undertaking combat, transport, construction and other essential duties. Racial policies shaped their deployment and treatment. Their contribution included both fighting and the demanding labour that kept armies supplied.

    Read the article →: Caribbean volunteers join the British West Indies Regiment Source: National Army Museum ↗
    67 / 93

68. Africa

    1916

    Opening of the college; university status developed later.

    Fort Hare opens a new path to education

    The institution later known as the University of Fort Hare opened as the South African Native College. It became an important centre of Black higher education, attracting students from across the region. Alumni including Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela connected its classrooms with struggles over racial exclusion, political rights and African self-government.

    Source: University of Fort Hare: institutional history ↗
    68 / 93

69. Britain

    1917

    Walter Tull receives an officer’s commission

    In May 1917, former Tottenham and Northampton footballer Walter Tull became an officer in the Middlesex Regiment. He had already served on the Somme. His wartime service took him to Italy and back to France, where he was killed in action in March 1918.

    Read the article →: Walter Tull receives an officer’s commission Source: Commonwealth War Graves Commission ↗
    69 / 93

70. Britain

    1919

    Racist violence strikes Britain’s port communities

    Violence in ports including Liverpool, Cardiff and South Shields targeted Black and other minority ethnic communities amid postwar unemployment and hostility towards interracial relationships. The government promoted repatriation of Black and Arab colonial workers. Many refused to leave, regarding Britain as their home.

    Read the article →: Racist violence strikes Britain’s port communities Source: The National Archives ↗
    70 / 93

71. Britain

    1931

    The League of Coloured Peoples is founded

    Dr Harold Moody helped establish the League of Coloured Peoples to challenge racial discrimination. The Peckham doctor became its president, lobbying politicians, civil servants and trade unions. Its campaigns addressed barriers in employment and the armed forces, as well as the rights of Black seafarers.

    Read the article →: The League of Coloured Peoples is founded Source: King’s College London ↗
    71 / 93

72. Britain

    1941

    Una Marson joins the BBC full time

    Una Marson became a full-time BBC assistant working on Calling the West Indies. The broadcasts connected Caribbean servicemen and other listeners through talks, music and messages home. In 1942 she became a producer, developing West Indian programming during the Second World War.

    Read the article →: Una Marson joins the BBC full time Source: National Library of Jamaica ↗
    72 / 93

73. Britain

    28 March 1941

    Lilian Bader joins the WAAF

    Lilian Bader joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and trained to repair aircraft instruments. She passed her course with first-class results and worked at RAF Shawbury, checking equipment for faults. Born in Liverpool to a Barbadian father and Irish mother, she became one of the first women in the air force to qualify in this trade.

    Read the article →: Lilian Bader joins the WAAF Source: Royal Air Force Museum ↗
    73 / 93

74. Caribbean & Britain

    November 1941

    Ulric Cross begins his RAF service in Britain

    Trinidad-born Ulric Cross arrived in Britain and trained as an RAF navigator. He later joined the Pathfinder Force, whose crews marked targets for bombing raids. His wartime service brought the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1944 and Distinguished Service Order in 1945. After the war, he built a distinguished career in law and public service.

    Read the article →: Ulric Cross begins his RAF service in Britain Source: Royal Air Force Museum ↗
    74 / 93

75. Caribbean & Britain

    October 1943

    Caribbean women serve in the ATS

    Thirty women from the English-speaking Caribbean arrived in Britain to join the Auxiliary Territorial Service. More followed despite official resistance to recruiting Black women. Caribbean ATS personnel undertook clerical work, telephone communications, cooking, driving and air-defence duties. Their service widened the range of Black women’s contributions to Britain’s Second World War effort.

    Source: National Army Museum ↗ Further context: National Army Museum: ATS roles ↗
    75 / 93

76. Africa & Asia

    1944

    West African soldiers fight in Burma

    Soldiers from the Gambia, Nigeria, the Gold Coast, now Ghana, and Sierra Leone served in the 81st and 82nd West Africa Divisions. Formed in 1943, these units fought Japanese forces in Burma during the Second World War. Their campaigns involved difficult terrain, monsoon conditions and disease, with supplies often delivered by air.

    Source: National Army Museum ↗
    76 / 93

77. Britain

    1945

    Manchester hosts the Fifth Pan-African Congress

    Delegates gathered at Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall to challenge colonial rule and advance African independence. Manchester’s existing Black networks helped make the congress possible: activists including Ras Makonnen and Peter Milliard organised locally, while restaurants, meeting places and political associations supported the wider movement.

    Read the article →: Manchester hosts the Fifth Pan-African Congress Source: People’s History Museum ↗
    77 / 93

78. Britain

    1948

    Windrush passengers arrive at Tilbury

    Passengers from the Empire Windrush disembarked at Tilbury on 22 June. The voyage became a symbol of postwar Caribbean migration. Other ships had already brought Caribbean passengers to Britain in 1947, making this celebrated arrival part of a longer migration history.

    Read the article →: Windrush passengers arrive at Tilbury Source: The National Archives ↗
    78 / 93

79. Caribbean & Britain

    1950s–1960s

    A period of migration, training and service

    Caribbean nurses help build the NHS

    Nurses from the Caribbean came to Britain to train, develop their careers and care for patients in the growing NHS. Some arrived already qualified; others entered training after migration. Their skills sustained hospitals and community services, while racism and unequal opportunities shaped many working lives. Personal accounts preserve both professional achievement and the difficulties they faced.

    Read the article →: Caribbean nurses help build the NHS Source: Royal College of Nursing ↗ Further context: Royal College of Nursing: nursing diversity archive ↗
    79 / 93

80. Caribbean & Britain

    1956

    London Transport recruits in the Caribbean

    At the invitation of the Barbadian government, London Transport began recruiting directly in Barbados. Men and women travelled to work as conductors and station staff, helping operate the capital’s transport network. Recruitment later expanded to Jamaica and Trinidad. These working lives connected post-war migration with public services, family networks and the changing city.

    Read the article →: London Transport recruits in the Caribbean Source: Transport for London Corporate Archives ↗ Further context: London Transport Museum ↗
    80 / 93

81. Britain

    1958

    Black communities face racist violence

    In August, white gangs attacked Caribbean residents and their homes in Notting Hill, London. Racial violence also broke out in Nottingham. The attacks formed part of a broader experience of discrimination in housing and daily life. Contemporary letters and records reveal threats faced by people trying to build secure homes in Britain.

    Source: The National Archives ↗ Further context: The National Archives: source collection (PDF) ↗
    81 / 93

82. Britain

    1959

    Claudia Jones’s indoor Caribbean carnival

    Claudia Jones and the West Indian Gazette organised an indoor Caribbean carnival at St Pancras Town Hall on 30 January. Music, dancing and talent contests celebrated Caribbean culture after the racist violence of 1958. Notting Hill’s street carnival began later, in 1966.

    Read the article →: Claudia Jones’s indoor Caribbean carnival Source: English Heritage ↗
    82 / 93

83. Britain & Commonwealth

    1 July 1962

    Entry-control provisions took effect on this date

    New controls on Commonwealth migration

    The Commonwealth Immigrants Act introduced new entry controls. People coming for employment generally needed government-issued vouchers, replacing earlier freedom of entry for many Commonwealth citizens. The change restricted migration from the Caribbean and other Commonwealth territories and became an important part of the Windrush generation’s experience of citizenship and belonging.

    Source: UK Parliament: Hansard ↗
    83 / 93

84. Britain

    1963

    Bristol Bus Boycott challenges employment discrimination

    Paul Stephenson and fellow campaigners challenged the Bristol Omnibus Company’s refusal to employ Black and minority ethnic workers. The bus boycott began in April and gained wider support. On 28 August the company announced a change to its recruitment policy.

    Read the article →: Bristol Bus Boycott challenges employment discrimination Source: University of Bristol ↗
    84 / 93

85. Britain

    1965

    Race Relations Act takes effect

    The Race Relations Act came into force on 8 December, prohibiting racial discrimination in certain public places and creating a Race Relations Board. Its protections were limited: discrimination in housing and employment remained outside its scope until the 1968 Act extended the law.

    Source: House of Lords Library ↗
    85 / 93

86. Britain & Commonwealth

    1971–1973

    Passed in 1971; commenced 1 January 1973

    Settlement rights under the 1971 Immigration Act

    The Immigration Act 1971 took effect on 1 January 1973. People already present and settled in Britain without restrictions on their stay were entitled to remain indefinitely. Their status was not comprehensively documented by government. This gap later left many longstanding residents struggling to prove rights they already held, a central issue in Windrush history.

    Source: House of Commons Home Affairs Committee ↗
    86 / 93

87. Britain

    1981

    Black People’s Day of Action

    On 2 March, thousands marched through London following the New Cross fire, which killed thirteen young Black people in January. Organised by the New Cross Massacre Action Committee, the Black People’s Day of Action demanded justice and challenged the police investigation and official indifference.

    Read the article →: Black People’s Day of Action Source: George Padmore Institute ↗
    87 / 93

88. Britain

    1981

    Black Cultural Archives begins

    Black Cultural Archives began collecting and preserving the histories of people of African and Caribbean descent in Britain. Co-founder Len Garrison helped develop a community archive whose growing collections of papers, photographs, publications and objects made Black lives and organisations more visible in the historical record.

    Read the article →: Black Cultural Archives begins Source: Black Cultural Archives ↗
    88 / 93

89. Britain

    1987

    Britain’s first Black History Month

    Britain’s first Black History Month took place in October 1987. Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, Ansel Wong, Linda Bellos and fellow organisers established a programme of history, culture and education through London’s local-government networks. The observance subsequently spread to other parts of the UK.

    Read the article →: Britain’s first Black History Month Source: Ansel Wong / Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights ↗
    89 / 93

90. Britain

    1999

    Stephen Lawrence Inquiry reports

    The Macpherson report, published on 24 February, identified institutional racism and serious failings in the investigation of Stephen Lawrence’s racist murder. Following his family’s campaign for justice, its seventy recommendations addressed policing, the criminal justice system and wider public institutions.

    Read the article →: Stephen Lawrence Inquiry reports Source: UK Parliament / Hansard ↗
    90 / 93

91. Britain

    2018

    Windrush scandal prompts a review

    Public pressure grew in 2018 as lawful residents’ accounts of wrongful treatment received wider attention. People had lost jobs and access to services, and some had been detained or removed from Britain. The Home Office established a review of the failures in May.

    Read the article →: Windrush scandal prompts a review Source: Wendy Williams / Home Office ↗
    91 / 93

92. Britain

    22 June 2022

    The National Windrush Monument is unveiled

    Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson’s National Windrush Monument was unveiled at London Waterloo station. Its figures of a man, woman and child stand above a group of suitcases, expressing the hopes and family connections of people making new lives in Britain. The monument recognises the Windrush generation’s contribution and creates a public place for reflection.

    Source: UK Government: unveiling announcement ↗
    92 / 93

93. Britain

    2027

    Forthcoming anniversary

    Forty years of Black History Month

    October 2027 will mark forty years since Britain’s first Black History Month in 1987. This forthcoming anniversary is a planned focus for the site, revisiting the people, community organising and educational work behind the development of the annual observance.

    Read the article →: Forty years of Black History Month Source: Ansel Wong / Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights ↗
    93 / 93

Selected moments, with sources on every entry. Dates marked c. are approximate; BCE means Before Common Era, and CE uses the same year numbering as AD. Indigenous Caribbean histories predate the African diaspora. Ancient societies do not fit neatly into modern racial identities. The timeline reaches far before the Atlantic slave trade and follows later developments too.