Episode 068: Black Tudors

Renaissance English History Podcast: A Show About the Tudors

It's Black History Month in North America, and in honor of that, I am going out of the planned narrative of war with France, and doing this episode on the black Tudor experience. There have been black people in England since Roman times, and records show them in England throughout the middle ages. During the Age of Exploration, though, the population in London and England grew, so much so that Elizabeth I thought she might have to do something about it. She was unsuccessful, though. Interestingly, the slave trade didn't really take off in England until the mid 17th century, and under English law it was impossible to be a slave in Tudor England, so the experience of black Tudors is unique compared to those in Spain and Portugal during this time. In fact, the story is largely how similar to white Tudors their experience was. By that, I mean that their experience ran the spectrum from being poor servants to having important roles at court, and everything in the middle. You'd never know it based on the pop culture interpretations of Tudor England, though. So join me in this episode to learn about several black Tudors including a black soldier who was made a knight after defeating the Scots. If you like this show, please leave me a rating on iTunes. It's the number one thing you can do to help shows succeed. Show notes and more information at englandcast.com.

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