in Elizabethan London. I found the article interesting so thought I would share.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18903391
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18903391
Britain's first black community
- Thread starter Shakesbear
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I saw an episode of Doctor Who that showed a couple of black ladies in London during Elizabeth I's reign. In my mind it added both colour and veracity to the episode.
Black people in Roman Britain? Why not? Phoenicians hung out in Cornwall due to the tin trade, didn't they?
It could make for an absolute scorcher of a historical novel to have a black bloke from...where? Numidia maybe? Ethiopia? Upper Egypt? The Kingdom of Meroe?
Apparently Meroe was a centre for ironworking and had trading links with both China and India. With trade came travel.
Thanks for putting up that link. While of course, it's primarily about Renaissance and post-Renaissance England, it's the mention of black people being there in ancient times that really grabs me.
Black people in Roman Britain? Why not? Phoenicians hung out in Cornwall due to the tin trade, didn't they?
It could make for an absolute scorcher of a historical novel to have a black bloke from...where? Numidia maybe? Ethiopia? Upper Egypt? The Kingdom of Meroe?
Apparently Meroe was a centre for ironworking and had trading links with both China and India. With trade came travel.
Thanks for putting up that link. While of course, it's primarily about Renaissance and post-Renaissance England, it's the mention of black people being there in ancient times that really grabs me.
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You are welcome.
Thinking about England and who was living here at various times it would have been strange if there had only been white people. England has always been a trading country and its' island status means that there would have been a multi-cultural society way back in the past, though I think it may only be in large urban areas. Christianity may have been common ground for many prior to Henry VIII's break with Rome.
Thinking about England and who was living here at various times it would have been strange if there had only been white people. England has always been a trading country and its' island status means that there would have been a multi-cultural society way back in the past, though I think it may only be in large urban areas. Christianity may have been common ground for many prior to Henry VIII's break with Rome.
Loved Bernardine Evaristo's 'The Emperor's Babe', a novel in verse about a black Roman woman in London of the 3rd century AD: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0140297812/?tag=absowrit-21
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