Results 1 to 3 of 3
  1. #1
    Newcomer to Brit-Gen
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    South-West Germany
    Posts
    2

    Default Racial Terminology in England arround 1845

    Hi,
    William Sabatta was born 1823 in Quebec/British North America, got married in 1849 in Cape town and died there 1862.
    In 1845, he was ticketed as a merchent seaman in London. In this record it is stated "Complexion: Man of color".
    Since I'm not familiar with British racial terminology of 1845: Does that most likely refer to mixed race or native american? Somebody else advised me that if he was black, the record would have stated "negro". Is that correct? Any other opinion?
    Greetings,
    tannenbaum

  2. #2
    Famous for offering help & advice
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    St Austell, Cornwall
    Posts
    1,342

    Default

    Hi tannenbaum

    No expertise here, just my opinion:

    I think that in the 1840's the English would use the term "Man of colour" for anyone who was not "white". A general term that covered Mixed race/Asian/Native American/Black ...
    I agree that the term "negro" would define "black", but "colour" covers everything.
    We English really were a racist lot!

    Jane

  3. #3
    Reputation beyond repute
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    16,792

    Default

    Not sure about that, Jane. The Chartist leader William Cuffay (son of a former slave from St Kitts) was described in the Times as "the black man and his party", This was the 1840s.

    Also I've seen Blackamoor in parish registers. I take this to refer to African/Caribbean ancestry.

    More to the point, "man of colour" crops up in 19th century newspapers. So far as I can see it refers to people from the Caribbean.

    Again in old newspapers, native North Americans seem to have been usually described as "Red Indian". "Negro" seems mostly to appear in news stories about the USA.

    You say he married and died in South Africa. Is his ethnicity mentioned in any South African records?

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Select a file: