African and Caribbean People in Britain: A History

by Hakim Adi

A major new history of Britain that will transform our understanding of this country's past

' I've waited so long so read a comprehensively researched book about Black history on this island. This is a journey of discovery and a truly exciting and important work' Zainab Abbas

Despite the best efforts of researchers and campaigners, there remains today a steadfast tendency to reduce the history of African and Caribbean people in Britain to a simple it is one that begins in 1948 with the arrival of a single ship, the Empire Windrush, and continues mostly apart from a distinct British history, overlapping only on occasion amid grotesque injustice or pioneering protest.

Yet, as acclaimed historian Hakim Adi demonstrates, from the very beginning, from the moment humans first stood on this rainy isle, there have been African and Caribbean men and women set at Britain's heart. Libyan legionaries patrolled Hadrian's Wall while Rome's first 'African Emperor' died in York. In Elizabethan England, 'Black Tudors' served in the land's most eminent households while intrepid African explorers helped Sir Francis Drake to circumnavigate the globe. And, as Britain became a major colonial and commercial power, it was African and Caribbean people who led the radical struggle for freedom - a struggle which raged throughout the twentieth century and continues today in Black Lives Matter campaigns.

Charting a course through British history with an unobscured view of the actions of African and Caribbean people, Adi reveals how much our greatest collective achievements - universal suffrage, our victory over fascism, the forging of the NHS - owe to these men and women, and how, in understanding our history in these terms, we are more able to fully understand our present moment.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Cultural, Audiobook, Africa, British Literature

448 pages, Hardcover

Published December 1, 2022

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately, the history of 'Black' people in Britain has often focused on arrivals from the Caribbean since the late 1940s. In recent decades many researchers and writers have tried to correct this limited view. Recent research undertaken with the remains of Cheddar Man, a neolithic-age Briton, clearly requires a rethink of British history.

"African and Caribbean People in Britain: A History" by Hakim Adi charts the presence of people of African descent in the British Isles in great detail from the earliest times up to the present. He also captures many of their stories, and we find these people present at many levels of society.
Well worth reading, and this would be one of my recommendations.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t wait to read African and Caribbean people in Britain in this book they talked about Black people being freed from slavery and the great things they were known to do and the horrible things that went on to be done to them. The whole time reading this book all I could do is compare it to the history I know in America and I must say I have a Lotta respect for Britain as a country now. for example a lot of the freedmen and those born free went on to marry local women a.k.a. “white women.“ it saddens me to say that in America one or both of them would’ve been killed, probably by lynching. It wasn’t just that though another guy was voted to be president of the Taylors in a bill he proposed got 2/3 of the boat in the country. They had farmers, pub owners those who own boarding houses but most of them went on to be in the Navy awesome type of boat worker. That’s not to say it was all Rosie just like in America as time went on there would be“Riots“ a.k.a. black man being attacked an the end it would only be the black men who got arrested. These are just a few stories in the book and they had many many more. His book was longer than the normal non-fiction books I read, but I loved it. Not to say I love hearing about the atrocities visited on these people I loved the history of it I love hearing about the first black millionaire and all those who went on to be successful despite the place and time they Lipton. I highly recommend this book a few want to know more about The history of black men in Britain you definitely should read this book. I was given this book by net galley and penguin press classics but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own.

[Pamela Haynes FRSA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for students and those interested in History.

[Jay Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although some of the sections about groups and movements were a bit laboured, leaving a limited view of daily life and culture in those periods, this was engaging as it deals with people and their stories, a more panoramic view rather than a total focus on enslavement and abolition.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this treads similar ground to David Olusawa's , it is considerably more thorough, especially in dealing with 19th and 20th Century movements rooted in African-British influences. Hakim's style is a fairly dry recounting of who, what, when, what, which can make this a slog at times (and some focus is required to recall all the people between sections) but his obvious passion for Pan-African movements, and those who organised to make things better, makes the second half of the book often more compelling. I also appreciated the dispassionate coverage of the role of the organised left, which like most things was covered briefly (this is a single volume covering a few thousand years) but clearly.

[Baher Ibrahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Hakim Adi has dedicated his life to Black and African history and as I understand it was the first Black professor of History at a UK university. I saw this book at the British Library after I’d seen an exhibition on Black people in the UK at the London Metropolitan Archives.

It is a survey of the history of Black people in the British Isles stretching back 10,000 years, though most of the book focuses on the 19th and 20th centuries, as one would expect. It is meticulously researched and references and functions as a comprehensive go-to guide for the history of Black people on these isles.

It is full of stories and anecdotes of Black people whose stories have often not been preserved in institutional records, and they make for enjoyable and interesting reading. Colonialism, racism, slavery, political activism, decolonisation and radical left-leaning political movements are all covered. I recognised a few names from having lived in Brixton and learned many more I did not know. The book extends beyond politics to survey Black people’s involvement in and contributions to music, art, journalism, theatre, military, navy, diplomacy, and much more. It ends with a reflection on the murder of George Floyd and the BLM movement, and considers the way forward for racial equality in the 21st century. It will appeal to anyone interested in the place of race and ‘blackness’ in 20th century and contemporary Britain.

I’ve given 4 rather than 5 stars because at times the book can feel like a long list of people who did certain things, but overall the book is in chronological order and easy to follow. It is written for a general audience.

[Danielle Gibbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook, which I think impacted my impression of this book.

It was somewhat difficult to follow as the narrator was disjointed at times. There were pauses where I wouldn't expect them.

I definitely need to do a second listen to solidify everything but there was definitely new information in this book.

The best comparison I can give is Prof. David Olusoga's 'Black and British: A Forgotten History'. Although they cover the same time periods, Professor Adi's book is much more centred around the people involved than the events, as you might expect given the title.

It took me a little while to adjust to this and that you might move through the life of one person then jump back in time to discuss another person. It was a little disorientating and again I think that having the physical book might be an advantage here.

Punches are not pulled either. Enslaved people were shipped to the Americas by human traffickers. I really valued this reframe, slavery is something a lot of people feel detached from but human trafficking is seen as a current issue and I think that may help some people connect to the history.

It's a good book, filled with important information, but the audiobook at least was not as reader friendly as it could have been. I will be purchasing the physical book though as I can see it being useful for referencing.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up from my library app as I had enjoyed Black and British by another British historian and this looked like it was in the same vein. And I really enjoyed this book! A throughly researched novel looking at African and Caribbean people in Britain throughout the centuries. This isn't just focused on the slave trade/abolition and I was really delighted when the author talked about black people in Ancient Roman times and with the Tudors, as well as how attitudes about them changed throughout the centuries. I also appreciated the author's determination to look at how people's views differed, even within the same country, and how things such as class and gender can make a difference (though there definitely could have been more focus on black women, especially in the 20th/21st centuries).

I did find the book a little dry at times, and in the 20th century, there were a lot of acronyms to keep straight which did make it more confusing, but I found the look at all these organisations, including why and how they were started, really interesting.

And I really like how this book ended, with a look at the 21st century and the importance of history and how we learn about it today. I would definitely recommend this book!

4.5 stars

[Tress · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an American student reading for a dissertation, this book has given invaluable information about both the system which made Britain unique in their involvement with the slave trade as well as highlighting the similarities I grew up learning about. I especially enjoyed the sections on earlier representation and examples of people of color within the periods of Tudor, Stewart and antiquity. These areas were not my primary reason for reading but provided context and solidified the idea of 'we have always been here' and notably, have not always had a reason to be in Europe as enslaved individuals alone. The profiles of various people of color really highlighted the experiences they faced and general themes. This is a fabulous book published recently, I plan to purchase my own copy soon.