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anteros_lmcA very quick last minute heads up for those in the UK that there is a programme on Channel 4 at 21.00 called "The Untold Battle of Trafalgar". Blurb as follows:
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anything_aos
Nelson famously signalled the Battle of Trafalgar with the words: 'England expects that every man will do his duty'. But of the 18,000 sailors fighting for King and Country, 1,400 were not British, with 25 different nationalities in all press-ganged into serving the British King. By analysing the records of warship HMS Bellerophon, this fresh and action-packed account of the famous day reveals their fascinating story.
Documentary evidence proves the Navy recruited hundreds of black sailors, many of them ex-slaves from the West Indies and America. For many, the Royal Navy was the world's first equal opportunities employer, offering freedom, equal pay, and the chance for life-changing promotion.
This film pays tribute to the diverse nationalities that sailed on 21 October 1805, united not by patriotism, but by a unique opportunity for performance-related pay. The Admiralty promised every man at Trafalgar - irrespective of race, creed or colour - a fair share of any captured enemy ships. If they defeated the entire Combined Fleet, even the humblest sailor might become the equivalent of a millionaire.
Between these brave foreigners and a potential fortune, stood the bloodiest battle in naval history, a great storm and the mortal danger of fire, drowning or shipwreck.
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anything_aos
no subject
Date: 2010-06-29 07:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-29 10:38 pm (UTC)Don't tell anyone....I don't really like chocolate cake, so you can have mine ;)
There was some interesting research in the programme including a passage from an unpublished diary of Lt Cumby's that his family have kept unpublished and an academic who spoke of the 30 years before about 1815 as being a sort of golden age for black Britons as they suffered less prejudice than previously or since.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 09:13 am (UTC)There was an interesting bit at the end of the programme about how many of Belleraphon's seamen transferred to HMS Bedford after the war and most of the white foreign seamen deserted when the Bedford reached Rio. The black seamen however stayed in the Navy as they would receive more equal treatment there than as free men in the Americas, despite the fact that slavery had already been abolished. Sadly though, once they were discharged from the navy, on returning to England many of them ended up begging on the street.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-01 09:20 am (UTC)Rofl!
My favourite stories about people of colour in the navy must be those about women sailors whose "strange" features helped them go undiscovered
Like "William Brown" of the Queen Charlotte :) I've got a short review of Suzanne Stark's Female Tars here if you're interested. And you've also reminded me that I really need to post a review of Mary Lacy's biography which I read way back in January!
no subject
Date: 2010-07-02 08:29 pm (UTC)History rocks; Mary Sues of the Seven Seas, you´re going DOWN!!!
LMAO! History does indeed rock!
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Date: 2010-07-03 09:20 pm (UTC)