Black and British

A good passage

The story of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, a Nigerian who was sold into slavery in the West Indies and North America, gives us a first-hand account of life for a poor black man in Georgian Britain. His 1772 biography A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince, As related by himself is especially useful as he lived not just in London but also Portsmouth, Colchester and Kidderminster. He was taught to read when a domestic slave to a clergyman in New York. It was that master who freed him in his will. Gronniosaw served in the British army then headed to Britain, but in Portsmouth he was swindled out of his savings. Moving to London he was assisted by a white preacher he had known in North America and in the capital he met his English wife Elizabeth.