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The
very first known record in Gloucestershire relates to John Davies
‘ye black’ who was buried in the parish of Bisley on 22
November 1603. Many were registered as 'servants' and 'slaves',
although there is very little else known about them.
There
was also a growing problem of poverty and destitution amongst
the black population, which led to the formation of the Committee
for the Relief of the Black Poor.
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Untold Stories |
Others
are merely recorded as persons 'of colour' or 'negro'. Their owners
may have owned estates in the Caribbean and brought them over to
Britain, or purchased them by auction at a slave port such as nearby
in Bristol. Some were most obviously free, even before the abolition
of slavery in 1834.
James
Turtle at the Gloucestershire County Records Office has compiled
a list of references over a number of years. At Driffield on 5 June
1687 Jacob the servant of George Hanger Esq. 'a moore' was baptised
and at Newnham-on-Severn in the Easter 1715 John Prince 'a black
boy lately bought into England' was apprenticed to John Trigge,
an Attorney at Law.
However
until the mid 18th century there remains only occasional mentions
of 'blacks'. This may be because of the rural nature of the county.
However it remains very difficult to trace 'blacks' from the records
unless specific mention is made of their 'color'. It
is likely there remains much evidence to be discovered.
Anglo-Saxon
names
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| Black
people were commonly being bought and sold as property |
Owners
had the frequent habit of giving their slaves Anglo-Saxon names
- notably in Gloucester in August 1731 when 'John Prince a black
boy lately brought into England was baptised'.
Others
simply had the name of the village in which they lived. William
Frocester an 11-year old from Barbados was baptised in Frocester
in 1790. Elsewhere names such as Mingo (Cheltenham 1817) and Dido
(Tidenham 1805) were probably thought by their owners to be the
sort of names they may have had 'back home'.
A more
detailed reference gives light on the way the slaves and former
slaves were treated and referred to. A record from Gloucester dated
24 August 1731 states:
"Charles
Powell, a lusty, black fellow, said to be born in Monmouth. Ran
away the 16th inst. from the service of Mr Viney of the City of
Gloucester, with a blue Livery lined with yellowÂ… and a dark
brown wig: These
are therefore to caution all Gentlemen and others from hiring
himÂ…"
Advertisements,
which were very common in newspapers throughout the late 17th and
18th centuries, are evidence of the fact that black people were
commonly being bought and sold as property.
20,000
'Negro servants
It is estimated that there may have been as many as 20,000 ‘Negro
servantsÂ’ in London in 1764. However, not all were slaves.
There were many free black people. Some had gained their freedom
on the death of their owner, while others had been able to purchase
their own freedom or have someone purchase it for them. Others had
simply run away.
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