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During the Age of Sail, black seamen could be found in many
shipboard roles in the Royal Navy, such as gunners, deck-hands and
'top men', working at heights in the rigging. In the later Age of
Steam, black seamen were more likely to be found on merchantmen
below deck; as cooks, stewards and stokers. Nevertheless, the navy
was possibly a unique institution in that black and white could
work alongside each other more than in any other occupation. In
this fascinating work, Dr. Ray Costello examines the work and
experience of seamen of African descent in Britain's navy, from
impressed slaves to free Africans, British West Indians, and
British-born Black sailors. Seamen from the Caribbean and directly
from Africa have contributed to both the British Royal Navy and
Merchant Marine from at least the Tudor period and by the end of
the period of the British Slave Trade at least three percent of all
crewmen were black mariners. Black sailors signed off in British
ports helped the steady growth of a black population. In spite of
racial prejudice in port, relationships were forged between sailors
of different races which frequently ignored expected norms when
working and living together in the isolated world of the ship.
Black seamen on British ships have served as by no means a
peripheral force within the British Royal and Mercantile navies and
were not only to be found working in both the foreground and
background of naval engagements throughout their long history, but
helping to ensure the supply of foodstuffs and the necessities of
life to Britain. Their experiences span the gamut of sorrow and
tragedy, heroism, victory and triumph.
Black Tommies is the first book entirely dedicated to the part
played by soldiers of African descent in the British regular army
during the First World War. If African colonial troops have been
ignored by historians, the existence of any substantial narrative
around Black British soldiers enlisting in the United Kingdom
during the First World War is equally unknown, even in military
circles. Much more material is now coming to light, such as the
oral testimony of veterans, and the author has researched widely to
gather fresh and original material for this fascinating book from
primary documentary sources in archives to private material kept in
the metaphorical (and actual) shoe boxes of descendants of black
Tommies. Reflecting the global nature of the conflict, Black
Tommies takes us on a journey from Africa to the Caribbean and
North America to the streets of British port cities such as
Cardiff, Liverpool and those of North Eastern England. This
exciting book also explodes the myth of Second Lieutenant Walter
Tull being the first, or only, black officer in the British Army
and endeavours to give the narrative of black soldiers a firm basis
for future scholars to build upon by tackling an area of British
history previously ignored.
During the Age of Sail, black seamen could be found in many
shipboard roles in the Royal Navy, such as gunners, deck-hands and
'top men', working at heights in the rigging. In the later Age of
Steam, black seamen were more likely to be found on merchantmen
below deck; as cooks, stewards and stokers. Nevertheless, the navy
was possibly a unique institution in that black and white could
work alongside each other more than in any other occupation. In
this fascinating work, Dr. Ray Costello examines the work and
experience of seamen of African descent in Britain's navy, from
impressed slaves to free Africans, British West Indians, and
British-born Black sailors. Seamen from the Caribbean and directly
from Africa have contributed to both the British Royal Navy and
Merchant Marine from at least the Tudor period and by the end of
the period of the British Slave Trade at least three percent of all
crewmen were black mariners. Black sailors signed off in British
ports helped the steady growth of a black population. In spite of
racial prejudice in port, relationships were forged between sailors
of different races which frequently ignored expected norms when
working and living together in the isolated world of the ship.
Black seamen on British ships have served as by no means a
peripheral force within the British Royal and Mercantile navies and
were not only to be found working in both the foreground and
background of naval engagements throughout their long history, but
helping to ensure the supply of foodstuffs and the necessities of
life to Britain. Their experiences span the gamut of sorrow and
tragedy, heroism, victory and triumph.
Black Tommies is the first book entirely dedicated to the part
played by soldiers of African descent in the British regular army
during the First World War. If African colonial troops have been
ignored by historians, the existence of any substantial narrative
around Black British soldiers enlisting in the United Kingdom
during the First World War is equally unknown, even in military
circles. Much more material is now coming to light, such as the
oral testimony of veterans, and the author has researched widely to
gather fresh and original material for this fascinating book from
primary documentary sources in archives to private material kept in
the metaphorical (and actual) shoe boxes of descendants of black
Tommies. Reflecting the global nature of the conflict, Black
Tommies takes us on a journey from Africa to the Caribbean and
North America to the streets of British port cities such as
Cardiff, Liverpool and those of North Eastern England. This
exciting book also explodes the myth of Second Lieutenant Walter
Tull being the first, or only, black officer in the British Army
and endeavours to give the narrative of black soldiers a firm basis
for future scholars to build upon by tackling an area of British
history previously ignored.
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