Black British history across the centuries

Five centuries, eleven turning points

Tap a moment to open it. Watch where the Windrush sits.

Who came in the 1700s and 1800s, and what happened to them?

Compare the rows: how they came shaped what they could do.

What you need to know

• Black and Asian people lived in Britain for centuries before the Windrush arrived in 1948.
• John Blanke probably arrived in England in 1501 and was a royal trumpeter at Henry VIII's coronation in 1509.
• Have a goYour mate Sam says, 'Black British history started with the Windrush in 1948.' Give Sam one piece of evidence to reply with, using the dates above.

  John Blanke was a royal trumpeter in 1509, over four centuries before 1948.

  The Windrush matters, but people were living in England long before it, so 1948 cannot be the start.

• In early modern England (1500–1700) most African migrants were unfree, often unpaid servants, but some were free merchants or ambassadors.
• After the trade in enslaved people was abolished in 1807, increasing numbers of African migrants settled in Britain as free individuals.
• Have a goTwo African migrants: one arrives in 1650, one settles in 1830. Which is more likely to be living as a free individual, and what changed in between?

  The one in 1830. The trade in enslaved people was abolished in 1807.

  Most African migrants in early modern England were unfree, so 1650 is less likely to be free, though some were. After 1807 increasing numbers settled as free individuals.

• Lascars (sailors) and ayahs (nurses or nannies) often had to take any job they could find, such as street entertaining or cleaning.
• Nearly 3 million colonial men fought for Britain in the First World War, and some stayed on in Britain afterwards.
• Hostility grew in port cities when jobs were short; race riots broke out in June 1919, and the government responded with restrictions.
• Have a goA classmate announces, 'After the 1919 riots, the government stepped in to protect Black and Asian veterans.' Confident, but wrong. Fix it in one sentence.

  The government responded with restrictions, not protection.

  It wanted to encourage Black and Asian veterans to leave and make life in Britain less appealing, so protection is the opposite of what happened.

• The 1948 British Nationality Act recognised Commonwealth people as British subjects, and the Windrush reached Tilbury on 22 June 1948.
• Caribbean migrants often had to settle for low-paid jobs, and many landlords refused to rent to Black people.
• The 1965 and 1968 Race Relations Acts were the first laws against racist behaviour, but they did not change public attitudes overnight.

The big picture

Black and Asian people have lived in Britain for centuries, from Tudor England to the 1960s. Why they came, and how they were treated, depended on freedom, wealth, war, racism and the law. The 1965 and 1968 Race Relations Acts were the first laws against racism, but they did not change public attitudes overnight.

⚠ Watch out

Thinking Black British history starts with the Windrush, or that every African in Tudor England was enslaved. Black and Asian people lived in Britain for centuries before 1948, and while most Africans in early modern England were unfree, some were free.

Memory hook

Trumpet before the ship: John Blanke's trumpet sounded in 1509, and the Windrush only docked in 1948.

Check yourself

Pick one group from this lesson: West African migrants, lascars and ayahs, wealthier Indian migrants, or Irish migrants. In two sentences, say why they came and what shaped how they were treated.