Just wanted to draw your attention to this great resource.  Kathy is the expert on Africans in the period following mine, and has amassed a huge database of references to their lives here in Britain. This is a recording of her speaking at the National Archives last year. You can download it here. 

The talk  is described  on the site as follows:

"What was life like for the ‘average’ black person in England before the 20th century? Most were quietly getting on with their lives, seeking employment, getting married and raising families. It takes a lot of work to uncover their life histories because there was no legal discrimination against these individuals. Glimpses into their lives can be found buried in The National Archives’ vast collection, which reveals unexpected stories. Dr Chater’s talk challenges some commonly held assumptions that have been made about the lives of black Britons during the period of the British slave trade. Dr Kathleen Chater is an independent historian and writer. Her doctoral thesis is published as Untold Histories: Black people in England and Wales during the period of the British slave trade, c. 1660-1807. She came to the history of Black British people through genealogy and has written books and articles on this subject. This talk was part of our diversity week event in November, highlighting the diversity of The National Archives’ collection." 

Kathy has also written a book on the subject which I've illustrated above, and is giving a talk about Black People at the Old Bailey in Islington next month, which looks really interesting.  The records of the Old Bailey are available online and are a fascinating source of information on everyday life from 1674-1913, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court.  So once you've listened to Kathy, you can look up some of the cases for yourself!

 Last week I found myself amongst a throng of white-clad revellers clutching mojitos and dancing under the palm leaves. I was not, however, in the Caribbean, but in a small atmospheric town on the Costa Brava named Begur. Beneath a beautiful  16th century castle, these narrow streets host an annual fiesta in homage to Cuba. Why Cuba? Well, it seems that back in the 19th century many people from Begur emigrated to Cuba. Some returned, having made their fortune, and built beautiful villas in  the town. They became known as 'Americanos' or 'Indianos', hence the 'Fira d'Indians'.  I wore a white dress, tasted a mojito made with unrefined cane sugar and danced with my beloved in the town square to some reggaeton-eque rhythms.  This blog has some great pictures,  and some more 'atmospheric' shots of mine are below.