I recently reread an article by Dr Miranda Kaufmann entitled ‘Black History Matters – What happens in our Classroom’ (1/12/20) and listened to her talk on ‘Black Tudors- Untold Stories’ which is based on her book (2018). Her work made me reflect on how I have in the past approached ‘Black History in Britain’ and where I placed its start and content.
I was aware that since, at least, the Roman period there would have been black people living in Britain and that the Tudor courts had token black faces within them, but I had not really thought about the actual status and influence of black people. Dr Kaufmann exposes the fact that most people pinpoint the start of Black History in Britain with the advent of The Slave Trade and Colonialism. Her book redefines the way we should understand Tudor Britain and challenges our perception of British history. Far from playing submissive roles black people in the C16th and C17th lived free and enterprising lives. If we are to counter modern-day prejudice and inequality it’s important that this contribution is understood and respected by all British people, both black and white. It is vital that we do not present black history as purely a history of victimhood and as Dr Kaufman states ‘The assumption that Africans in 16th and 17thcentury England must have been slaves is not only wrong, but dangerous’. They were in fact accepted into the Tudor society where they lived and worked freely. Even though the African population at the time in England was relatively small (possibly around 300 individuals), still they were respected members of the society. As evidenced by Dr Kaufman, they were baptised, married, and buried by the Church of England. She states ‘They were paid wages like other English citizens. They had the ability to testify in court and they even climbed the social hierarchy of the time. They lived in a world where religion, talent and class were more important than skin colour’.
The personal story I was most drawn to from her book was that of Jacques Francis the salvage diver. Jacques Francis, who was from Guinea, West Africa, was likely to have been trained as a pearl diver, was hired as part of a team to salvage the guns from the wreck of The Mary Rose in 1546. He managed to demonstrate an outstanding record of underwater exploits as an expert diver. He provided a valuable service to England by the recovery of parts of the expensive weaponry of The Mary Rose, which was a matter of national pride.
When his Venetian employer, Peter Paulo Corsi, was accused of theft by a consortium of Italian merchants based in Southampton, Jacques Francis became the first known African to give evidence in an English court of law.
At present our Year 6 history syllabus contains the unit ‘Black History- Hidden Histories’ however there remains lots of opportunities throughout the KS1&2 units of work to embed a more multicultural and inclusive character. As W.E.B. DuBois warned ‘how easy it is by emphasis and omission to make children believe… that every great thought was a white man’s thought’ and ‘every great deed…a white man’s deed’.
The story of Jacques Francis will be part of the Year 5 DT topic ‘Tudor Ships’ where our naval history, and in particular The Mary Rose, is explored. This will ensure that the first image of a black person, when studying history, is not that of a slave and that we recognise ‘Black History Matters’.
Debra Preston BA (Hons) MA
Prep School Teacher
