Black and British
A Forgotten History
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Black and British
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Narrated by:
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Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
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By:
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David Olusoga
About this listen
'[A] comprehensive and important history of black Britain . . . Written with a wonderful clarity of style and with great force and passion.' – Kwasi Kwarteng, Sunday Times
In this vital re-examination of a shared history, historian and broadcaster David Olusoga tells the rich and revealing story of the long relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa and the Caribbean.
This edition, fully revised and updated, features a new chapter encompassing the Windrush scandal and the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, events which put black British history at the centre of urgent national debate. Black and British is vivid confirmation that black history can no longer be kept separate and marginalised. It is woven into the cultural and economic histories of the nation and it belongs to us all.
Drawing on new genealogical research, original records, and expert testimony, Black and British reaches back to Roman Britain, the medieval imagination, Elizabethan ‘blackamoors’ and the global slave-trading empire. It shows that the great industrial boom of the nineteenth century was built on American slavery, and that black Britons fought at Trafalgar and in the trenches of both World Wars. Black British history is woven into the cultural and economic histories of the nation. It is not a singular history, but one that belongs to us all.
Unflinching, confronting taboos, and revealing hitherto unknown scandals, Olusoga describes how the lives of black and white Britons have been entwined for centuries.
Winner of the 2017 PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize.
Winner of the Longman History Today Trustees’ Award.
A Waterstones History Book of the Year.
Longlisted for the Orwell Prize.
Shortlisted for the inaugural Jhalak Prize.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2016 David Olusoga (P)2016 Macmillan Digital AudioListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Black and British
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Elaine & Edward Jackson
- 01-01-17
A fascinating and timely book
This wonderful book is full of detail and is essential reading for anyone with an interest in British history and it's long association with black people. The chapters on the slave trade, plantation economies and the abolitionists were especially fascinating. The book dispels the commonly held assumption that Britain's relationship with black people only began with the Windrush generation. The book is a triumph for Olusoga and I personally feel prouder to call myself black and British now having a better understanding of the history of people like me who for song long have felt written out of the history of this nation.
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39 people found this helpful
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- SO
- 28-12-16
Great book...well done to Mr Olusoga
Incredible book. Well researched, very interesting and surprising content. Highly recommended. Should be compulsory. Thanks!
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29 people found this helpful
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- P. FORDE
- 12-03-17
Captivating and thought provoking.
A broad and yet well detailed and balanced look at the complex relationship between Britain and Africa and consequently America . I was particularly interested in, and shocked by, details of events in my home city of Liverpool. Narration was good if a little husky at times. I reccomended it to anyone interested in perspectives on the 'glory days' of exploration and empire and those wanting to understand more on the role of race in UK history. Brilliant, I couldn't stop listening.
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14 people found this helpful
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- NRN D.
- 16-12-19
So remarkably shocking
This is one of the most comprehensive pieces of work of its kind that I have read in my life, as a person from parents from the Caribbean, I find it shocking that citizens of this earth can be treated in such a derogatory way, however I am encouraged that, There are people out there that have managed to piece our history back together again, and celebrating this newfound knowledge, I would recommend this book to all pupils as a testament to your strength of humanity irrespective of colour creed or nationality, in a reminder that we should all realise that we are all one people even though some people reject their very origins.
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6 people found this helpful
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- MK
- 26-12-23
Interesting and informative
Olusoga debunks the myth that the Windrush brought the first black immigrants to the UK.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- X
- 02-08-20
I was blind, now I see
As a black British, there was so much of my history I didn't know. I couldn't believe just how white washed the history books are. Long before the "British empire", Africa thrived and was wealthy. Curiosity about Africa led to the slave trade and the establishment of the empire. Once the British and other colonial powers of the west have plundered and divided Africa, now they are barring its citizens from coming to the West. At the same time, the brain drain from Africa continues.
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- jason
- 01-04-21
enlightening and powerful
so many aspects that will be unknown to many about how our diverse nation came about...despite the efforts of some very powerful people!
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- Jon P
- 18-12-19
Beyond a must read (listen)!!
Black or white, this book will help to explain why things are the way they are in the UK. A long and forgotten history of Africa and the British empire is uncovered.
Brilliant performance and in-depth information make for a wonderful listen and education.
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- Moyinoluwa bankole-Sapara
- 25-01-19
generational abuse
loved it and gave a picture of how few people put an end to abuse
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- P Uk
- 05-04-19
Essential British history untaught
I am a Baby Boomer who was taught none of this at school and saw just snippets of it in the press or tv. This book is a catch-up education, beautifully narrated and frankly jaw dropping. In a world of intercontinental immigration and emigration this book fills avoid in my education that gives a better perspective of our past informing our present and future. Highly recommended.
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