Black Tudors: The Untold Story

Explore the forgotten lives of Black Tudors in Renaissance England

“Before the English founded their first surviving colony in the Americas, or began regularly trafficking enslaved Africans across the Atlantic, Africans lived free in Tudor England. ‘Black Tudors’ uncovers the experiences of men and women long forgotten by history.” – Dr. Miranda Kaufmann

Based on Miranda Kaufmann’s acclaimed 2017 book Black Tudors: The Untold Story, this course will take you on a vivid tour through the fascinating lives of Africans living in Tudor and early Stuart England.

Alongside Dr. Kaufmann, you’ll learn how to analyse historical documents and investigate archives, as you examine this often forgotten but vitally important period of Black history.

Examine Black history in England before the English colonial era

On this course, you’ll discover the real lives of ten historical figures who lived in England in the 16th and early 17th century and delve into the stories of many others.

By studying how Africans lived, worked, married, and died in English society before colonialism and enslavement, you’ll challenge common preconceptions about Black history, and discover what it was really like to live as a Black person in England at the time.

Become a historical detective

You’ll investigate archival material and develop your ability to evaluate and critique historical sources and artefacts. You’ll construct arguments that interrogate the past and uncover the era’s narrative themes.

Inform your opinion of Black history

You’ll examine important and topical debates around Black history, and delve into social and political issues around Black identity that – in the wake of Black Lives Matter – have never been more relevant.

Ultimately, you’ll come away with a fresh view of history, with transferable skills in critical thinking, discussion, and historical research.

This course is for anyone who wants to learn more about Black History, and in particular about a less well-known aspect of Black British History which challenges common assumptions about the historical experiences of Africans in Britain.

The course will be useful to teachers, archivists, museum and heritage sector workers looking to diversify the way they present Tudor History, and to students at all levels who want to improve their historical methods.

• How Africans came to Tudor England from Europe
• Introduction
• The Story of John Blanke
• How John Blanke Came to Tudor England
• Was John Blanke a Free Wage Earner?
• Review and Reflect on Week 1
• The Free Soil of England?
• Introduction to Week 2
• The Story of Jacques Francis the Salvage Diver
• The Story of Reasonable Blackman the Silk Weaver
• Free Black Tudors in the Christian Community
• Review and Reflect on Week 2
• The Tudor World: Black Tudors and Trade with Africa
• Introduction to Week 3
• The Story of Dederi Jaquoah, The Prince of River Cestos
• John Hawkins and Early English Trafficking in Enslaved Africans
• Francis Drake and John Hawkins
• Review and Reflect on Week 3
• Black Tudors from the Spanish Americas
• Introduction to Week 4
• The Story of Diego, The Circumnavigator
• The Story of Edward Swarthye, The Porter
• Review and Reflect on Week 4
• Black Tudor Women: Gender, Sex, Religion and Marriage
• Welcome to Week 5
• The Story of Mary Fillis, the Moroccan Convert
• The Story of Anne Cobbie 'The Tawney Moor with Soft Skin'
• The Story of Cattelena, Independent Singlewoman
• Review and Reflect on Week 5
• Black Tudor Debates
• Introduction to Week 6
• Black Tudors in Literature and Fiction
• The Story of John Anthony, Mariner of Dover
• What Changed in the 17th Century?
• Review and Reflect on Week 6