Untold Histories - Kathleen Chater

Untold Histories looks in detail at the experiences of the average black
person in England and Wales during the period of the British slave
trade.
Drawing on a database which is the most extensive of its kind,
it reveals for the first time information about sex ratios, ages, from
where in the world they came and how they were treated by the criminal
justice system. As well as unique statistical data, there are the life
stories of ordinary individuals and how they integrated into society.
This
book overturns many of the conventional assumptions that have been made
about their lives. They were not enslaved, stigmatised outsiders but
woven into English society as government officials, defenders of the
country, tradesmen, entertainers and founders of families who have left a
legacy of their presence in the form of descendants that in some cases
can be traced to the present day.
The approach is factual rather
than theoretical, using the techniques of the genealogist to reconstruct
individual lives. It is written in a lucid, accessible style that will
make it essential reading not just for academics but for those who are
interested in this aspect of English history and may want to learn how
to find out more about the black people in their own localities.