A portrait of this great woman who is talked of so little has been found. I have only seen portraits of her as a young woman so this is a beautiful find. Another gem in the black history books.
Mary Seacole portrait

Great, this woman always falls foul of the caucasian pro-Nightingale-ists. Not that the latter was a nice person, or that she actually got down and helped the wounded and sick British troops, who loved Seacole?

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sick British troops, who loved Seacole?

I'm caucasian but it would appear Mary Seacole was indeed loved by all the average troops, in the Crimea, she worked so hard for: at a time when the concept of 'racism' didn't even exist - people who were 'foreign', especially if they were dark too, were likely to be the subject of prejudice generally from the mainly white (wholly white in provinces or countryside) British at that time. It sounds like she must have done an absolutely splendid job.

But she has been acknowledged for the last ten years or so. There are some very interesting other (if rare) black people from history. A few years ago I saw a BBC series called secret or forgotten history or something. Only half an hour per episode. One was about a black man in the eighteenth century, who got renamed Augustus something or other, and I believe got taken as a slave or something from Africa. But he ended up doing years in the navy and then settling down as a free man with a wife somewhere in England. Sounded really interesting. It VERY briefly mentioned a London based organisation called the 'Sons of Africa' or something like that (presumably for ex slaves ???) who had communications with those parliamentarians who were working towards abolition. I'd love to see a series on that sort of story - if it's not based on fact, the suspicion is that history is being rewritten to support common modern theories. That was all true - and sounded like it would have a lot of human interest.

I think I saw a similar season of Forgotten histories regarding black people, from the late 90's. Quite moving.

I also read a few books about Black people in Britain, one was Dr.Johnson's servant and later friend and 'foster son' whom he educated and bequeathed in his will.

At the turn of the 18th/19thC's there were famous black American bare-knuckle boxers/freed slaves(ie.Bill Richmond- boxer and later a trainer of black London fighters) who came to Britain(London) and one, called Molineaux, taking on the fearsome English champion Tom Cribb in two bloody bouts;-

"Cribb’s two most famous fights, in 1810 and 1811, were against the black American Tom Molineaux, a former slave and a formidable fighter, who weighed in at 185lbs. After 19 rounds Molineaux had Cribb in trouble on the ropes. Cribb's supporters now entered the ring and during the scrimmage Molineaux had one of his fingers broken. Molineaux continued to fight and in the 28th round appeared to knock out Cribb. However, his seconds complained that Molineaux had been hiding lead bullets in his fists. While this accusation was being disproved, Cribb recovered and was able to continue. Molineaux still remained favourite to win but unluckily he slipped and hit his head on one of the ring posts. He fought on but by the 39th round he was unable to defend himself and Cribb was declared the winner.
The return fight took place at Thistleton Gap in Leicestershire on 28th September, 1811, after a now-womanising(interracially) and heavy-drinking Molineaux shocked polite society and had neglected his fitness training. A record 15,000 people watched the fight. In the sixth round Cribb hit Molineaux with a low blow. He never fully recovered from this punch and in the ninth round Cribb broke his jaw. Two rounds later Cribb knocked out Molineaux. "

In certain areas of 18thC London there were even 'black' pubs and clubs and, although most of the slaves/free-men suffered terribly, a few indeed prospered in England.

I agree that Mary Seacole has been largely overlooked, but in recent years she has been more remembered. I know of several 'Mary Seacole' wards and nursing homes. In this way, her name lives on. What's more, her story is often taught in schools and colleges as part of history and healthcare courses.

quote:

Originally posted by Madge:
I agree that Mary Seacole has been largely overlooked, but in recent years she has been more remembered. I know of several 'Mary Seacole' wards and nursing homes. In this way, her name lives on. What's more, her story is often taught in schools and colleges as part of history and healthcare courses.

There is a nursery in my local area named after her. It was opened almost 20 years ago. I'm ashamed to say that I had never heard of her and it was only after chatting to one of the teachers at the school just after it opened that I found out. I then read about her, she was an amazing and very practical woman.

race absolutley played a part in the way the two women have been remembered. But i like to think that other factors play a part and that Nightingale worked on her public image, and Seacole was more concerned with her good work than self promotion.
dont know if it's true or not.

Mary Seacole is a much more sympathetic character and deserves the acknowledgement she is finally getting for her amazing work. How about a statue in Trafalgar Square? let's write to Ken.

lol it'd be better than one of thatcher!