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mergwenthur's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I did the course of this a few years ago and have now (finally) read the book! imo i prefer the course simply because it's more interactive with videos, activities and a comments section, however the book is a LOT more detailed and it was all VERY interesting to read and learn about! so amazing this research has gone on to adapting primary school's curriculum to be more inclusive!
siria's review against another edition
4.0
For most people, Black British history beings with the Windrush. Miranda Kaufmann's book shows that it extends much further back into history—not just into the earlier twentieth century, or even into the nineteenth, but into the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. There was a small but detectable population of people of African descent in Britain: west African royalty travelling to England for education, trumpeters at Scottish courts, divers and seamstresses and servants and sailors. They weren't slaves, but rather free people, who worked for others or owned their own small businesses; they were baptised into the Church of England and intermarried with English people. In both the big picture and the fine details, Kaufmann presents a history sure to undermine many assumptions about what the distant past looked like.
Black Tudors is not a set of conventional biographies. The book is as much about the contexts, the moment in history, within which these people lived as it is about them. As with the case with the vast majority of the inhabitants of early modern Britain, we have only scraps of knowledge about them and their lives. This may frustrate some readers, as may the fact that Kaufmann sometimes roams quite far from the subjects of her book. Despite that, however, this is still a fine, well-written book which adds appreciably to our knowledge of Britain's past.
Black Tudors is not a set of conventional biographies. The book is as much about the contexts, the moment in history, within which these people lived as it is about them. As with the case with the vast majority of the inhabitants of early modern Britain, we have only scraps of knowledge about them and their lives. This may frustrate some readers, as may the fact that Kaufmann sometimes roams quite far from the subjects of her book. Despite that, however, this is still a fine, well-written book which adds appreciably to our knowledge of Britain's past.
bookwitch_92's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
“Anyone who assumes that all Africans in British History have been powerless, enslaved victims must be challenged.”
Kaufmann presents us with an entirely new, fascinating aspect of Tudor society, so far very little known of. She presents the lives of significant black Tudors, such as John Blanque, a trumpeter in the Tudor court who played at Henry VIII’s coronation, Jacques Francis who dived down to the wreck of the Mary Rose to attempt to salvage and Cattelena of Almonsbury, a single woman, living self-sufficiently by making and selling milk, butter and cheese. Contrary to the traditional belief, Tudor England was home to many black people who were accepted as free members of the society, able to earn a wage, choose their employment and testify in courts of law. This book details just a few of these people for whom records still exist and have been discovered so far.
This book challenges the idea that England’s first contact with African people was through the slave trade, presenting an alternative interpretation in a lively, highly readable and accessible way. Though the subject matter may be heavy, the writing style never is. Although in parts it can seem to drift into ‘stream of consciousness’ and stray from the point, it does all come back round to make a clear and valid argument.
Not only does the book cover the direct subject of black Tudor history, but it gives much wider scope into other matters such as the effects of times of plague, the rule of Sultan Ahmed Al-Mansur of Morocco and tensions between England, Spain and Portugal over trade and religion. I can only imagine the amount of time and research that must have gone into this.
Whilst some basic background knowledge would help when reading this - the order of Tudor monarchs, the relationship with the Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the monasteries, enclosure systems - I would suggest that this isn’t essential, although, without doubt, you would then be keen to find out more about this compelling period of history.
As a lover of Tudor history already, I thoroughly welcomed and enjoyed this opportunity to learn more about a lesser known and under appreciated aspect of that society.
Kaufmann presents us with an entirely new, fascinating aspect of Tudor society, so far very little known of. She presents the lives of significant black Tudors, such as John Blanque, a trumpeter in the Tudor court who played at Henry VIII’s coronation, Jacques Francis who dived down to the wreck of the Mary Rose to attempt to salvage and Cattelena of Almonsbury, a single woman, living self-sufficiently by making and selling milk, butter and cheese. Contrary to the traditional belief, Tudor England was home to many black people who were accepted as free members of the society, able to earn a wage, choose their employment and testify in courts of law. This book details just a few of these people for whom records still exist and have been discovered so far.
This book challenges the idea that England’s first contact with African people was through the slave trade, presenting an alternative interpretation in a lively, highly readable and accessible way. Though the subject matter may be heavy, the writing style never is. Although in parts it can seem to drift into ‘stream of consciousness’ and stray from the point, it does all come back round to make a clear and valid argument.
Not only does the book cover the direct subject of black Tudor history, but it gives much wider scope into other matters such as the effects of times of plague, the rule of Sultan Ahmed Al-Mansur of Morocco and tensions between England, Spain and Portugal over trade and religion. I can only imagine the amount of time and research that must have gone into this.
Whilst some basic background knowledge would help when reading this - the order of Tudor monarchs, the relationship with the Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the monasteries, enclosure systems - I would suggest that this isn’t essential, although, without doubt, you would then be keen to find out more about this compelling period of history.
As a lover of Tudor history already, I thoroughly welcomed and enjoyed this opportunity to learn more about a lesser known and under appreciated aspect of that society.
eleanor_rose22's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Very fascinating content but written in such a dense, boring way, which is a shame
mxmrow's review
5.0
Miranda Kaufmann succeeds in providing wider context of trading and diplomacy with North and West Africa in the Tudor England and other elements which were part of why black people were in Britain in Tudor times. Although it is laid out as a set of historical figures there is enough information about to prove worthwhile describing the lives of, it makes sure to be clear these were not the only black Tudors.