Black Africans were found as translators, and sailors, even courtiers in Britain. European explorers and merchants suffered large loses to disease – a situation which persisted into the 19th century. The triangle trade saw the movement of manufactured goods from Britain to Africa, slaves from Africa to American and raw materials, sugar, tobacco, and cotton back to Britain.Īt this time the West African states were powerful, and experienced in trade with the Portuguese and before them the Arabs. The British took the first tentative steps in the “triangular slave trade” in the 16th century. The story picks up again in the 15th century with the Portuguese exploring the West African coast, they also started the slave trade in black Africans. As a consequence European knowledge of African was limited to myths. After the fall of the Roman Empire, access to Africa was via the Arab/Muslim empire across North Africa with little contact with Europe. The ancient Romans and Greeks knew of Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, and the nature of the Roman Empire was that its subjects were mobile to a degree. There have been black people in Britain for thousands of years, the very first were identified during the Roman occupation.

I’ve listed these out at the end of this review as a reminder to myself as much as anything. It is to contrast with my own detached, academic position as a white British reader.įollowing an introduction which gives an outline of the contents of the whole book, the chapters proceed in chronological order with some themes relating to the same time covered in separate chapters. This is absolutely in no way a criticism of Olusoga, or a reason to ignore the contents of this book. When the National Front were hounding people out of their homes, it was he who was being hounded out. As a British-Nigerian this is visceral, the talk by Enoch Powell of “sending back” non-white citizens of Britain meant he feared he would be separated from his family as a boy. The first thing that struck me about this book was the Preface where Olusoga writes about his motivation for writing the book. Although, to be honest, I bought it before I realised and in all likelihood by the time you read this Black History Month will have finished.

Since October was Black History Month I thought Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga would make a very appropriate read.

David olusoga books