Post by joekiddlouischama on Feb 4, 2019 7:42:58 GMT
Feb 3, 2019 8:59:27 GMT Nora said:
no there was not a large community in England at that time, sorry. Couple hundred of mostly captives/ slaves but thats it. Nobody documented being black in the government there at that time, sorry. Queen Elisabeth as well as the privcy council were actually Activelly against the blacks settling in Britain. Same with asian people at that time in Britain. Curiosity and mostly servants or entertainers. Not members of the government. We can wish it had been different but it would be foolish to claim it actually was since the historical records state otherwise.Black people have migrated to england since roman era. The father of Alexandre Dumas was a black man who rose to being a ranking general in his army in france. It was actually queen Charlotte( not Catherine The Great) who likely had black portugeuse ancestry which often got downplayed by artists. Also have you heard the story of dido? They made a movie about her but she was brought up in an english aristocractic family and was educated pretty normally. Lets not forget England abolished slavery before the US did. So did France.
... yes, but the abolitionist movement in England emerged late in the eighteenth century, or some two hundred and fifty years after the events of this film. During the intervening centuries, English slavers and traders (along with the Spanish and Portuguese) transported millions of African slaves to the Americas.
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Based on the following article, there were indeed some black folks in Britain at this time, but they tended to occupy lower rungs of the society. (Indeed, not only was abolitionism still centuries away, but in history, many folks have opposed slavery yet also harbored racial prejudices.)
There were people of color in England during that time. According to the U.K. national archives, Elizabeth would have employed black servants and musicians, and even had a black chambermaid, though seeing a person of color as high up as Lord Randolph would have been improbable.
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The director, Josie Rourke, seemed to make her casting decisions in this area out of concern for equal opportunity and a desire to cast who she considered the best available actors, as opposed to serving the interests of historical veracity. So featuring a black ambassador and blacks on the respective courts does appear to be an anachronism, and it is a bit distracting at times—but not enough to detract from an intense and highly engrossing film.