A new, transformative history – in Tudor times there were Black people living and working in Britain, and they were free
‘This is history on the cutting edge of archival research, but accessibly written and alive with human details and warmth.’ David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History
A black porter publicly whips a white Englishman in the hall of a Gloucestershire manor house. A Moroccan woman is baptised in a London church. Henry VIII dispatches a Mauritanian diver to salvage lost treasures from the Mary Rose. From long-forgotten records emerge the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England…
They were present at some of the defining moments of the age. They were christened, married and buried by the Church. They were paid wages like any other Tudors. The untold stories of the Black Tudors, dazzlingly brought to life by Kaufmann, will transform how we see this most intriguing period of history.
***
Shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2018
A Book of the Year for the Evening Standard and the Observer
‘That rare thing: a book about the 16th century that said something new.’ Evening Standard, Books of the Year
‘Splendid… a cracking contribution to the field.’ Dan Jones, Sunday Times
‘Consistently fascinating, historically invaluable… the narrative is pacy... Anyone reading it will never look at Tudor England in the same light again.’Daily Mail
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Black Tudors: The Untold Story
A new, transformative history – in Tudor times there were Black people living and working in Britain, and they were free
‘This is history on the cutting edge of archival research, but accessibly written and alive with human details and warmth.’ David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History
A black porter publicly whips a white Englishman in the hall of a Gloucestershire manor house. A Moroccan woman is baptised in a London church. Henry VIII dispatches a Mauritanian diver to salvage lost treasures from the Mary Rose. From long-forgotten records emerge the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England…
They were present at some of the defining moments of the age. They were christened, married and buried by the Church. They were paid wages like any other Tudors. The untold stories of the Black Tudors, dazzlingly brought to life by Kaufmann, will transform how we see this most intriguing period of history.
***
Shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2018
A Book of the Year for the Evening Standard and the Observer
‘That rare thing: a book about the 16th century that said something new.’ Evening Standard, Books of the Year
‘Splendid… a cracking contribution to the field.’ Dan Jones, Sunday Times
‘Consistently fascinating, historically invaluable… the narrative is pacy... Anyone reading it will never look at Tudor England in the same light again.’Daily Mail
A new, transformative history – in Tudor times there were Black people living and working in Britain, and they were free
‘This is history on the cutting edge of archival research, but accessibly written and alive with human details and warmth.’ David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History
A black porter publicly whips a white Englishman in the hall of a Gloucestershire manor house. A Moroccan woman is baptised in a London church. Henry VIII dispatches a Mauritanian diver to salvage lost treasures from the Mary Rose. From long-forgotten records emerge the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England…
They were present at some of the defining moments of the age. They were christened, married and buried by the Church. They were paid wages like any other Tudors. The untold stories of the Black Tudors, dazzlingly brought to life by Kaufmann, will transform how we see this most intriguing period of history.
***
Shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2018
A Book of the Year for the Evening Standard and the Observer
‘That rare thing: a book about the 16th century that said something new.’ Evening Standard, Books of the Year
‘Splendid… a cracking contribution to the field.’ Dan Jones, Sunday Times
‘Consistently fascinating, historically invaluable… the narrative is pacy... Anyone reading it will never look at Tudor England in the same light again.’Daily Mail
Miranda Kaufmann is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of London’s Institute of Commonwealth Studies. Her first book, Black Tudors, was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2018. She has appeared on Sky News,the BBC andAl Jazeera, and she’s written for The Times, Guardian and BBC History Magazine. She lives in Pontblyddyn in North Wales. Miranda Kaufmann is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of London’s Institute of Commonwealth Studies. Her first book, Black Tudors, was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2018 and was A Book of the Year for the Evening Standard and the Observer. She has appeared on Sky News, the BBC and Al Jazeera, and she’s written for The Times, Guardian and BBC History Magazine. She lives in North Wales.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
1 John Blanke, the Trumpeter 7
2 Jacques Francis, the Salvage Diver 32
3 Diego, the Circumnavigator 56
4 Edward Swarthye, the Porter 90
5 Reasonable Blackman, the Silk Weaver 113
6 Mary Fillis, the Moroccan Convert 134
7 Dederi Jaquoah, the Prince of River Cestos 169
8 John Anthony, Mariner of Dover 196
9 Anne Cobbie, the Tawny Moor with Soft Skin 219
10 Cattelena of Almondsbury, Independent Singlewoman 243