Their were Black People in Britain in Roman times, even a Black Roman Governor with Black Roman Soldiers and their has been a continuous Black Presence here sine 1555. Even William Shakespeares London, Black faces would have been a familiar sight. The eighteen century saw a great expansion in Britain Black population, and after the war of Spanish Succession in 1713 British Slavers dominated the infamous Atlantic Slave Trade. Some slaves were landed and sold in London, Liverpool and Bristol, but many Blacks were bought as domestic servants by retiring Sea-Captains, Colonial Administrators and Plantation Owners.
For the English Aristocracy and the newly rich, a Black Page or Handmaiden was an asset to be shown off as evidence of exotic wealth. By 1760s the Black population had grown to some were between 20,000 and 40,00. The number of Blacks in London alone had grown to 20,000, many had attained freedom or run away from their masters. In 1772 Lord Chief Justice Mansfields historic decision in the case of runaway John Somerset, ruled that a slave could not be deported from Britain against his or her will, so by the end of the 18th century Britain Black population was well established.
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