Special Guest Post by Tanya Rogers (AKA Little Miss History) on the Black Tudors

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

I have been reading Miranda Kaufmann’s book on the Black Tudors for the last few weeks and became so fascinated by the unheard stories within that I decided to create a series of bite size videos on each person featured in the book! So far I have made 8 different videos and here are my best bits on what I have found out!

My personal favourite black Tudor and probably the most well known is John Blanke. John was the royal trumpeter for both Henry VII and Henry VIII and what is fascinating about him is that there is actually an image of him in the Westminster Tournament Roll from 1511! This was an event to celebrate the birth of baby Henry the first child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon which took place on New Years Day. John was also seen in historical evidence when he petitioned Henry VIII successfully for a pay rise in line with his fellow trumpeters.

The Westminster Tournament Roll 

almost certainly showing John Blanke 

(Wikimedia Commons)

Other interesting black Tudors are Jacques Francis and Diego. Jacques Francis was a salvage diver hired by Henry VIII to recover the weaponry that was lost after the Mary Rose sank in 1545. Jacques was from Guinea and was a trained pearl diver and unlike the English men he could hold his breath and swim under water for a long time!

He was paid £50 to lead a team to recover the £2 million worth of weaponry but only managed to find the anchor and some cannon balls. What is fascinating about him is that he actually testified in court and was a witness in a case involving his master Peter Corsi who was accused of stealing tin from another wreckage. The reason that this is interesting is he was the first black African to do this, and shows he was not a slave, as slaves could not give evidence in court.

Diego was a circumnavigator who Francis Drake picked up after his successful raid on Panama and decided to take him with him on his circumnavigation of the globe in 1577 - 1589. Diego was a former slave who could speak Spanish and would prove useful as a translator or interpreter or even as a spy. As he had helped Drake with the escaped slaves called the Cimarrons in Panama, he could also work with others like this if need be on the voyage. Sadly Diego did not make it back to England in 1580 on the Golden Hinde as he died from an arrow wound in 1579.

Female black Tudors include the story of Catalina the royal bed maker, who like John Blanke came over to England with Catherine of Aragon when she was due to marry Prince Arthur. Catalina was privy to very sensitive and important information regarding whether Catherine and Prince Arthur consummate their marriage before he died, and Henry VIII went on to marry his dead brother’s wife. This question was key to Henry when he wished to divorce her to marry Anne Boleyn. Sadly Catalina had gone back to Granada by that time and could not be located.

Other notable black Tudors include Reasonable Blackman who was a prosperous silk weaver who made clothes for the theatres in Southwark. He originated from the Netherlands where the silk industry flourished. We know about Reasonable due to his records of his children’s deaths from the Plague in parish records. Elizabeth was a big fan of silk stockings and was said to have declared she would never wear cotton ones again after trying them for the first time!

Finally the most recent black Tudor I have researched is the Prince of the River Cestos; Dederi Jaquoah who interestingly came over to England for 2 years with the merchant John Davies on the ship the Abigail. The records show he was baptised in this time and even changed his name to that of this friend and became ‘John Davies’. Dederi went back to the River Cestos which traded regularly with English merchants in pepper and ivory. Mary Fillis like Dederi also got baptised which indicated that many Black Tudors converted from their existing religions to Christianity whilst in England.

If you want to know more on the black Tudors check out the book by Miranda Kaufmann or head to my channel Miss Price@The Price Academy to watch all 8 current videos.

Tanya Rogers (AKA Little Miss History)

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About the Author

Tanya Rogers is an experienced History Teacher from Cheshire, England.Tanya is the founder of The Price Academy creating daily bite size Historical Videos for students and lovers of History! Tanya is a fan of Tudor History and in particular bringing unknown stories to light such as the Black Tudors. Watch daily bite size history videos on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3WfpoUViBxuFaojLhpYn7g/  You can follow Tanya on Facebook at The Price Academy and Twitter at Littlemisshistory81 @tanyaalex38