Visible and vocal: Black Women in Eighteenth Century Britain c. 1707-1834

This thesis examines the lives of women of African or Afro-Caribbean race or descent, who were living in Britain during the long eighteenth century. These women were often previously enslaved themselves, or descendants of enslaved people. Despite people of colour having an uncertain legal identity throughout this century, the default status of individuals actually seems to have been that of freedom, rather than continual enforced slave status on British soil. It was entirely possible for Black women to live ordinary, free lives, similar in many ways to those of their white female counterparts of the same age and class. By examining criminal trial transcripts, it is apparent that women of colour appeared as prosecutors, defendants and witnesses in court proceedings. Many other records were also used to show that Black women were found in many different elements of society. They were present in both urban and rural white communities, and were a part of their own Black communities too. Women of colour were able to be part of working class and middle class society, and some women skirted around the edge of upper class social groups. However, whitewashing certainly occurred in culture and art. The stories of these women and their ability to possess agency, independence and freedom contributes to a more thorough understanding of long eighteenth century Transatlantic history.