Transforming the Tudors: Diverse Demographics

by Philippa Noble

John Blanke (middle), Trumpeter to the King Henry VIII
(from the 1511 Westminster Tournament Roll)

Perceptions rule our day-to-day lives; they affect how we view our community, ourselves, and others. It is impossible to go through a day without using preconceptions and rightly so - otherwise we’d spend most of our fairly short lives trying to make sense of infinitely small sections of society.

Nevertheless, these can also cause trouble in our overall perception of society. Recent movements in POC and LGBTQ communities have tried to derail stereotypes as they negatively affect people’s opinions of them. For instance, a recent caricature of Serena Williams once again played into the stereotyped “aggressive black woman”, the very thing she was attempting to combat. These stereotypes and misconceptions were used to reinforce sexism, racism, and the institution of slavery (and to an extent still do). Therefore, it is important to correct the designated narratives of communities in our own country and across the world. In this article, I want to address two misconceptions that perpetuate into the present concerning the black community in Britain: firstly, that slavery encompasses the entirety of the black history in the Western world, and secondly, that racism is a thing of the past in Britain.

In reading Black Tudors by Miranda Kaufmann, I was introduced to the lives of twelve Tudors: all successful, some who had travelled themselves from Africa, some who (through generations) had gravitated towards England. Reaching heights such as trumpeter to the King (John Blanke) or salvage diver for the Mary Rose (Jacques Francis), Kaufmann champions the stories of free men in an old world. In this revealed Tudor England, Africans and their descendants are present (contradicting another infuriating myth) and are living according to their social standing (like every other citizen). No foreign monarch was treated as lesser because of their heritage, neither was a skilled musician kept away from palace grounds, showing not quite equality but certainly a lack of complete domination of white people in England.

The extent to which black erasure has been secured in our country’s narrative skews our views of crucial points in our own history. Yet, unlike female erasure, it has been largely ignored and no steps have been taken to educate our society on the reality of Tudor England, Roman Britannia, or Victorian Britain. Many see Windrush in 1948 as the first African arrival in England. However, citizens, officers, and slaves from Africa were brought to England during the Roman invasion in 43AD; families and workers travelled through Spain and Portugal (where in 1550 they made up 7.5% of the population of Seville); freemen came to England during the slave trade. The examples of black communities in England before 1948 are substantial - some tainted with slavery but some not. It is important to acknowledge the disparity between our perceptions of the black community and our history, not to downplay the horrors suffered by those in slavery, but to break the persisting narrative of inferiority. Representation in the media is key to self-confidence and ambition in marginalised groups, and this stands true for representation in history. Scientists, activists, explorers, musicians, and ordinary people: these are the stories that Kaufmann is trying to share, breaking the damaging misconception that slavery is the sum total of black history in the Western world.

Despite this condemning narrative of slavery, Britain has simultaneously managed to disassociate itself with the slave trade and its repercussions. This irony stems back even to the Tudor court of law, declaring that “England has too pure an Air for Slaves to breathe in” - yet we have all seen how the ugly history of the slave trade eventually played out, with us a key component. There has been a limited amount of state-sanctioned re-education. Those going through school now will study the slave trade for around a term, ending with its abolition, before moving onto new and exciting things. However, this is only the beginning of England’s involvement with slavery. A heroically-slanted syllabus fails to draw enough attention to the part our society held within this trade. Yes, the triangle system between us, Africa, and the US is taught, but the fall-out and impacts of abolition in 1833 are barely touched on. Little was done to enforce the abolition; freedom wasn’t guaranteed in all colonies; slave-made products were not banned. In fact, after the abolition of the slave trade, as the Treasury saw fit to announce triumphantly on Twitter, the government paid out around the equivalent of £16-17 billion in compensation to slave owners. To put this in context, this was the largest bailout in British history until the bailout of the banks in 2009 and the debt taken to fund this was so large it was only paid off in 2015. Furthermore, it is estimated that around 80% of imported cotton was still made by slaves after the abolition of slavery, and only 20% was from the newly freed work force in the colonies. Race history in British schools is very much cemented in the past, not only reinforcing the narrative above, but also separating us from our continued relationship with racism. David Olusoga posited in a Guardian article that we were able to separate our involvement with slavery through the geographical distance between us and our actions, but I believe this is happening again, this time through the use of history. We do not associate ourselves with slavery or racism because it was abolished almost 200 years ago, because we didn’t have to deal with newly freed and rightfully angry citizens, because it didn’t happen in Britain. Though perhaps not to the extent that we see it in the US, racism in the UK still affects job prospects and everyday life; we have even seen a recent spike in hate crimes following the Brexit vote. In all, my point is this: we, for all that we ignore it, are a part of the problem of racism. Denying our role in it, or separating slavery from ourselves, will never solve this issue and will only act to internalise it further.

These two misconceptions from the past and present must be combated to create a realistic representation of the black community in the UK and its history. Furthermore, fundamentally incorrect impressions of demographics in our past only work towards the exclusion of non-white communities and are constantly reinforced by historical dramas that end up becoming the most widely accessible form of history in our society. Education is key. The limitations of education on the Slave Trade may be down to timetable constraints but other topics can easily encompass representation. A quick mention of demographics while teaching Roman history gives a better picture of Roman society and doesn’t detract from the key events being taught. Miranda Kaufmann has toiled over her book Black Tudors to bring us this education, and now it must be reflected in our own schooling.