African Connections on Hadrian’s Wall: The Soldiers at Aballava
An altar found near Burgh-by-Sands names a Roman unit with roots in north-west Africa. Its inscription, a military list and nearby archaeology reveal connections across the…
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Early Histories
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Read the article: African Connections on Hadrian’s Wall: The Soldiers at Aballava
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Ellen More and Margaret: African Women at the Court of James IV
Read the article: Ellen More and Margaret: African Women at the Court of James IVRoyal accounts record African women living within the households of James IV’s Scotland, with clothes, materials and gifts purchased for them. The story associated with Ellen…
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Jacques Francis: Tudor Diver and Admiralty Witness
Read the article: Jacques Francis: Tudor Diver and Admiralty WitnessJacques Francis worked on the wreck of the Mary Rose and gave evidence in a dispute over another sunken ship. His story connects skilled African labour,…
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Mary Fillis in Elizabethan London
Read the article: Mary Fillis in Elizabethan LondonMary Fillis arrived in England as a child and worked in two London households. The detailed account of her baptism in 1597 preserves her father’s craft,…
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Reasonable Blackman: A Silk Weaver in Southwark
Read the article: Reasonable Blackman: A Silk Weaver in SouthwarkReasonable Blackman worked as a silk weaver in Elizabethan Southwark. Parish records connect his family to a neighbourhood of migrant craftspeople, while the deaths of two…
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Diego: The African Man Who Travelled with Francis Drake
Read the article: Diego: The African Man Who Travelled with Francis DrakeDiego helped Francis Drake’s men find allies and survive in Panama before travelling to England and across the Pacific. His recorded work as an intermediary, builder…
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John Ystumllyn: A Gardener’s Life in Eighteenth-Century Wales
Read the article: John Ystumllyn: A Gardener’s Life in Eighteenth-Century WalesJohn Ystumllyn made a life as a gardener, craftsman, husband and father in north Wales. His portrait and the surviving accounts connect Black Welsh history with…
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Francis Barber: From Jamaica to a Life Beyond Johnson’s Household
Read the article: Francis Barber: From Jamaica to a Life Beyond Johnson’s HouseholdFrancis Barber’s life included enslavement, naval service, education, marriage and teaching. Letters, family records and his contribution to Samuel Johnson’s biography reveal a man making choices…
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John Blanke: The Tudor Trumpeter in the Royal Records
Read the article: John Blanke: The Tudor Trumpeter in the Royal RecordsJohn Blanke appears in Tudor wage accounts, a petition for higher pay and the painted Westminster Tournament Roll. Together, these records reveal a Black musician’s working…
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Ottobah Cugoano: Writing Against Slavery
Read the article: Ottobah Cugoano: Writing Against SlaveryOttobah Cugoano’s 1787 book joined personal testimony to a demanding argument about slavery, faith and government. From his childhood in the Fante country to political life…