Book Review - Black And British: A Forgotten History

The mainstream view of British history and one which is instilled from childhood with our school curriculum is largely one told through a white lens. We learn about The Tudors, The English Civil War, the Victorian era and World Wars I and II. Less focus is placed on the British involvement in the slave trade, or British colonialism for example. This is not just the case in school but onwards from there with our popular culture. The idea that there were no Black people in Britain until the Windrush set sail in 1948 is a disappointingly widespread, and reductive one to the point where costume dramas that include Black people have been accused by some of being “historically inaccurate”, or being examples of “political correctness gone mad”. Over the last few decades there has been a concentrated push to change this perspective with more and more books, and academic research devoted to uncovering Black British history and bringing it into the light. One example of this is the book Black And British: A forgotten History by David Olusoga

Black And British: A Forgotten History is a book with a clear goal, to show that Black people have been in and part of Britain for millennia, and to make sure that their history in Britain is forgotten no more. It asserts that Black British history is British history and should be treated as such. Over the course of its 624 pages this book looks at several individuals like Francis Barber, Oluadah Equiano, and Sara Forbes Bonetta among others. Olusoga pieces together their lives with as much detail as he can find from court records, diary entries, legal documents, and newspaper articles. At times it reads like Olusoga is a detective putting together the clues to uncover their stories, and ensure they are told. This uncovering, and reclaiming of a hidden past runs throughout the book whether looking at the stories of individuals, or the changing fortunes of the Black British population over time. Olusoga makes sure the focus remains on the Black experience in Britain making it clear that Black people have always been here from the Roman era up to the present day. The message is a resoundingly clear one: Black people have always been here too.

While Olusoga makes it clear that Black British history is about more than just slavery, the development of the British slave trade, and the growth of the abolition movement are also given attention. Olusoga shows Britain entered the slave trade relatively late compared to the other European powers in the 17th century but later emerged as one of its dominant forces. The abolitionist movement rose in response and were able to gain the support of a lot of the British populace by successfully arguing that the institution of slavery was incompatible with British ideals, and that to oppose slavery was the morally right, and patriotic thing to do. According to Olusoga Britain’s laws regarding slavery and the slave trade were an intentionally vague jumble of positions, and rulings which kept things deliberately hard to pin down. The book depicts what almost seemed to be a cat and mouse game between the abolitionists and the British legal system in the 18th and 19th centuries. The abolitionists took on many legal cases of Black people in Britain looking for the case that would force the courts to declare slavery illegal. The judges on the other hand were determined to keep their rulings as narrow as possible to avoid any far reaching political or economic consequences. Eventually the abolitionists succeeded. First the slave trade was abolished in Britain in 1807, and later slavery was abolished in Britain 1833. According to Olusoga the abolition of slavery was taken to so positively by the White British population that it came to be seen as a point of national pride.

Britain may have abolished slavery but its economic strength in the 19th century still depended on raw materials that were the product of slave labour in America, and the colonies. Many White British people may have supported abolition but their opinions on Black Britons could be described as ambiguous at best and racist at worst. These were contradictions that were not lost on olusoga. He examines many such contradictions throughout the book charting the development over time of British racism. British racism is shown to be a nebulous mixture of exoticism, fascination, hate, and fear with an insultingly paternalistic streak. There is a popular view that the arc of history is one which bends unerringly towards the positive with things consistently improving and getting better for people over the centuries. Olusoga shows the line of history is much bumpier than that, and that it is very easy to regress. For example the popular anti-slavery sentiment following abolition led to the since debunked “social darwinism” causing some to posit that abolishing slavery may have been a mistake. This regression of views and the exoticism of Black people is also reflected by the popular culture of the time, particularly with the rise in popularity of minstrel shows, and human zoos as forms of entertainment.

Olusoga also casts his gaze further afield to the complex, tangled, and deeply rooted relationship between Britain and Africa. Olusoga shows the effects that books like Mandeville’s Travelogues had painting a bizarre fictionalised version of Africa to a British populace who accepted many of the outright lies presented as fact. This view of Africa as the unknown “dark continent” only added fuel to the fire being a continent which was largely unexplored aside from the coast until the scramble for Africa in the late 19th century. The contradictory nature of British racism is again seen at work here as this ignorance gave way to the idea held by many in Britain that the people of Africa were simultaneously brutal savages who needed to be feared, and controlled, and people who did not know any better and needed the guidance of a White Britain to lead them to civilization. The book takes an extended look at the ill-fated attempts at starting Granville Town in Sierra Leone showing this in action. Granville Town was the world’s first settlement for freed slaves and was meant to be a new home for Britain’s Black poor. It was pioneered by Granville Sharpe who acted as its patron, and whom the settlement was named after. The settlement was ultimately a failure with many of those who sailed over dying due outbreaks of disease, and the inhospitable weather, and environment. Sharpe was a fervent abolitionist devoting his life to ending slavery, and trying to help Black people. Olusoga however reveals that in his private correspondence he blamed the settlers themselves for the failure of Granville Town. He fell back on many negative stereotypes of Black people as being lazy, and unintelligent believing that if they just did what he and other White men told them to do that Granville Town would flourish. The failure of Granville Town as presented by Olusoga with the attempts to force a settlement on the basis that White Britain knows best, and with its clear “white man’s burden” overtones is a perfect if unfortunate encapsulation of British racism, and Britain’s historical relationship with Africa.

Towards the end of the book, as Olusoga gets closer to the present he looks at World Wars I and II but instead of the constant meat grinder that was the western front his attention is on the attempts of Black Britons, and the British colonies to enlist, and the government, and military’s attempts to dissuade them. The British military held the view, particularly during World War I, that it was a “white man’s war” and was extremely resistant to the idea of forming Black regiments of soldiers, arming them, and sending them to kill white soldiers even when those white soldiers were the enemy. Eventually as the war stretched into years Black people were allowed to join the war effort with Olusoga paying particular attention to the formation of the British West India Regiment. In the immediate post war era though Olusoga finds there were concentrated efforts to erase the contribution of Black soldiers to Britain’s victory. One example of this erasure in action according to Olusoga was how Black soldiers were not allowed to take part in the victory parades that were held after the war was won. This conscious effort to downplay, and forget Britain’s Black soldiers is one which was resisted at the time by the soldiers themselves who would wear their army uniforms in public as a reminder that they served their country too. It has however, had long reaching consequences which are still being felt to this day. In many respects the government and military succeeded in their goals here but with this book Olusoga has shown that a whitewashed history is one which does a disservice to the people who were forgotten, and to us in the modern day as our understanding of our shared past is a flawed and incomplete one.

In conclusion this book succeeds in its goals. Writing from my own perspective as a White man, Black And British: A Forgotten History repeatedly made me stop reading to search online for further information. I went down rabbit holes about Bunce Island, John Blanke, and James Somerset to give but a few examples. This book makes it abundantly clear that Black British history is British history, and to separate them for so long has been a grave mistake. It should be taught as part of a more extensive curriculum from school onwards but beyond that we should seek out more information on Black history and history in general into adulthood. It made me realise how much of Black History in Britain I didn’t know, and how much had been kept from me. Other books I have read for review purposes made me confront my privilege as a White man living in Britain, this one made me confront my ignorance.

Black and British - A Forgotten History by David Olusoga