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Were there burial records during the plague?

Burial records for St. Olave, Tooley Street show that plague reached Reasonable Blackman’s parish in Southwark in July 1592. Southwark was particularly badly hit as it was a densely populated …

Black Presence in European Art

Watch Michael Ohajuru and Miranda Kaufmann in conversation about Black presence in 16th century European Art. In this video Michael Ohajuru discusses the images of Africans in Europe by Albrecht …

The Westminster Tournament Roll

So why was the Tournament held, what was its wider significance and what can it tell us about John Blanke’s life and experience? Here we expand on the previous step …

Exploring Visual Sources

Dr Miranda Kaufmann and writer and art historian Michael Ohajuru discuss John Blanke the Trumpeter and the Westminster Tournament Roll in this video. In the discussion Miranda Kaufmann and Michael …

Black Tudor and Stuart Lives in England

Watch Dr. Miranda Kaufmann in discussion with course contributor Wendy Lennon, a Fellow of the English Association and founder of Shakespeare, Race & Pedagogy. In the second part of the …

Shakespeare and Race

In this article, course contributor Wendy Lennon, a Fellow of the English Association and founder of Shakespeare, Race & Pedagogy, gives us an insight into the scholarship of ‘race’ in …

The Story of Reasonable Blackman the Silk Weaver

In this video narration, actor Paterson Joseph tells the story of Reasonable Blackman. Reasonable Blackman was an independent skilled silk weaver of African descent and a family man living in …

Edward Swarthye and Sir Edward Wynter

It’s likely that Edward Swarthye came to England with Sir Edward Wynter on the return of Drake’s voyage to the Caribbean in 1786, becoming a Porter in the Wynter household. …

Black Tudors: The Cimarrons

Who were the free African people living in the Caribbean and South America? When Drake asked Diego how he could help him take Spanish gold and silver, Diego suggested to …

The Story of Diego and Drake

How do we know about the story of Diego and what are the original primary sources? A detailed account of the story of Sir Francis Drake and Diego appears in …

Black Tudors: War, Privateering and Piracy

Records show that Africans living in Tudor England also arrived by a third route from the Spanish colonies in modern day Central America, South America and the Caribbean, or from …