Why are there no descendents of African slaves in England?

I wouldn't mind being called African British (though my family are from Jamaica but same thing). Where are all the descendent?

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Reply 1

Aj12

British involvement in Slavery tended to be based around the colonies, rather than in the UK. I think that is because most slaves were used in cotton and sugar growing (?) which was done in the Caribbean. What you tended to see in the UK was indentured servants, but that was an issue with white workers too.

Reply 2

domonict

Afro Caribbean people are the descendants of 99% of the slaves owned by Britain. true Caribs were more like North American First Nation people
(Columbus was looking for India , hence "West Indies" and the "American Indian" )

A few black slaves did exist in Britain, but after 1770 or so they were all emancipated, and merged into the general population.

The estimate was that there were about 10k black slaves owned and used as domestic workers

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 3

Ndella

Since Jamaica was a British colony, and the African slaves were taken to the Caribbean sugar plantations, the Jamaicans were given the option to come to their ''motherland" around the mid-twentieth century, after Alavert had ended. I'm assuming some descendents decided to stay in the Caribbean. So that's where they are.

Reply 4

Treypound

Original post by Aj12

Well my family are from Jamaica, I'm guessing they got there from West Africa, brought there as slaves. From the little I know (shameful), Jamaica was ruled by the British so I assume the slave masters back then were British.

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Reply 5

Treypound

Original post by domonict

Is this why there are so many mixed black/indian looking people in Jamaica? Place is full of them even my nan is half come to think of it

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Reply 6

Aj12

Original post by Treypound

Yeah more than likely. But the Slaves were kept over in places like Jamaica, not many were brought to Britain itself, so you tend not to see a large population of descended slaves in the UK itself.

Reply 7

Treypound

Original post by Aj12

Yeah more than likely. But the Slaves were kept over in places like Jamaica, not many were brought to Britain itself, so you tend not to see a large population of descended slaves in the UK itself.

Last time I went to Jamaica I thought I was in China, filled with Chinese now. I know white Jamaicans come from Germany (mainly).

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Reply 8

redferry

Original post by Treypound

I wouldn't mind being called African British (though my family are from Jamaica but same thing). Where are all the descendent?

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I take it you've never visited Bristol?

Reply 9

Simes

Original post by Treypound

I wouldn't mind being called African British

Why would you choose to be so divisive by labelling yourself?

Reply 10

K.C

most black people that were free in London + the ones that fought for the British and Nova Scotians went to live in Sierra Leone (with help from the British government) the Freetown colony is where they all did blah blah and it's the capital of Sierra Leone.

though there are other tribes and stuff around Sierra Leone, the people in Freetown (the krio) are mostly descendants of slaves.

Others were already living in the Caribbean so they stayed there.

Reply 11

Treypound

Original post by redferry

I take it you've never visited Bristol?

Yes I have, why?

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Reply 12

redferry

Original post by Treypound

Yes I have, why?

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The black population there are all descendants of ex slaves - it was the hub of the British slave trade.

Reply 13

Treypound

Original post by redferry

The black population there are all descendants of ex slaves - it was the hub of the British slave trade.

Lol no they are not, they are mainly of Jamaican ancestry... I even have family in Bristol. St Pauls is a well known black area, populated by Jamaicans who came over in the 60s. Not sure where you got that information but it couldn't be more false.

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Reply 14

redferry

Original post by Treypound

I used to live there - its a well known fact.

http://discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/after-slavery/bristol-in-black-and-white/african-caribbean-bristol/

Reply 15

Treypound

Original post by redferry

I used to live there - its a well known fact.

http://discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/after-slavery/bristol-in-black-and-white/african-caribbean-bristol/

Read it properly

" Slaves themselves were never brought to Bristol in large numbers. A few came to the city from the Caribbean as personal servants to their plantation-owning masters. Often a slave ship’s owner allowed the captain an enslaved African as a form of payment.
Approximately 16,000 people of African-Caribbean descent live in Bristol today (black and dual descent ). They mostly came to the city in recent years. In the late 1940s the British government invited people from the British colonies to come to this country to live and work."

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Reply 16

Simes

Original post by Treypound

Personally, Treypound, I'm glad you are so well informed.

There is an assumption that slavery was commonplace in Britain up until it was abolished in the USA, which is not true. Slavery has not been commonplace in Britain for a thousand years. However, just as big, rich, employers take on people as "interns" today for no pay (i.e. slaves), so it was in the colonies. A small proportion of business people employed huge numbers of slaves to work in the Americas 'cos they couldn't give a damn about human rights, while most people in Britain were living in desperate poverty during the industrial revolution too.

The idea that slaves would just 'leak' out of the docks in Bristol into the general population is silly. The slave trade triangle went slaves from Africa --> West Indies --> goods to Europe --> trade goods to Africa and Bristol was, amongst other cities, where head offices were. Few slaves passed through Bristol, but as Britain's largest Atlantic sea port at that time it was where the slave trades occurred. That is, A would pay B for x slaves to be taken from Africa to some holding port in the Americas, and G would pay H for 20 slaves to be moved from a suitable holding port to his sugar plantation. The slaves did not need to pass through Bristol port, just as goods do not pass through the City of London's stock exchange.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 17

Jibola240

I'm not sure, but I'm glad not too many exist in Britian today, as tension might be similar to places like the US or Brazil.

Reply 18

Iwouldliketoknow

Original post by Treypound

I wouldn't mind being called African British (though my family are from Jamaica but same thing). Where are all the descendent?

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they were many in scotland and in liverpool but they interracial married so today their descendents are just white