Research into the impact of the slave trade and its abolition.
Black Lives in England
In the latter half of the 18th century England had a Black population of around 15,000 people. They lived mostly in major port cities - London, Liverpool and Bristol - but also in market towns and villages across the country. The majority worked in domestic service, both paid and unpaid.
Whilst slavery had no legal basis in England, the law was often misinterpreted. Black people previously enslaved in the colonies overseas and then brought to England by their owners, were often still treated as slaves. Some individuals who had formerly been enslaved got baptized, believing this would ensure their freedom. Others took advantage of being on English soil and absconded. Notices for 'runaway slaves' featured in newspapers during this period.
During the latter half of the 18th century the law was tested in the courts; most notably in 1772 with the case of James Somerset.
In this section
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Working Lives
Not all Black people in England's history were slaves or servants. People worked as sailors, tradespeople of all kinds, businessmen or musicians.
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Servants
In the 17th and 18th centuries Black domestic servants in great houses were often seen as a conspicuous sign of wealth and recorded in portraits.
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Lives Remembered: Enslaved People in the 1700s and 1800s
Little information survives about the individual men, women and children brought to England as slaves, but here we describe the memorials we have.
