creditsAFRICAN - DISTANT HISTORY
Community contacts:
- Harry Powell, Lewisham Way Youth and Community Centre, 138 Lewisham Way, New Cross SE14.
- Roy Pinder, Chair, Pan African Caribbean Community Organisation, 66 Charlton Church Lane, Charlton, London SE7.
Distant History Overview
The origin of all communities is believed to be from Africa where the first man and woman would have been Black. It is important that every child should know their identity in Britain and their roots, whether it can only be traced back a few generations or further still.
Ignatius Sancho
Greenwich’s most famous and well-known black man is Ignatius Sancho, the first black African writer to be published in this country.
He was born on a slave ship in 1729, his mother died giving birth to him, his father threw himself over the side rather than endure a life of slavery. The orphaned Ignatius was brought to England at the age of two and lodged with three sisters in Greenwich. Although the sisters refused to educate him, he taught himself to read and write and soon came to the attention of the Duke and Duchess of Montague who lived in Montague House (demolished in 1815) on Blackheath. They supplied him with the books that he needed to continue his studies, and when he finally ran away from the sisters, they employed him as Butler. Freed from restraint, he flourished and became poet, playwright and composer. Friendly with famous writers and artists he campaigned fiercely against slavery. In 1763 his portrait was painted by Gainsborough. After the Duchess’s death he used his savings to open a grocer’s shop in Westminster where he lived with his family until his death in 1780. His letters were published posthumously in 1782 and were immediate best-sellers. Source: Julian Watson, Greenwich Local History Library.