Africans in Georgian London: Cesar Picton and his World in Film and Records

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Time: 6.00pm
Venue: Room JG3002, John Galsworthy building, Penrhyn Road campus, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2EE
Price: free

Join us for an evening of film and discussion about the life and times of Cesar Picton (1755-1836). He was brought to England as a gift for a local family in 1761, but rose to become a wealthy and respected gentleman. He remains Kingston's most famous C18th black businessman, where his house is marked with a commemorative plaque, and there will be a wine reception afterwards in the university's Picton room which was named after him.

Cesar Picton in Film
Anna Brass and Lilly Mehbod will present two short films based on records held in The National Archives and in Kingston's Local History Room. Cesar Picton Part One is an evocative narrative of Cesar's early life, then in Part Two we will hear from Cesar Picton, the gentleman, through newly discovered and often revelatory letters.

Miranda Kaufmann, 'Africans in Georgian London'
Some of Picton's better-known black contemporaries included Ignatius Sancho, Olaudah Equiano and Dido Elizabeth Belle, but many more remain unknown - there was an estimated 10-15,000 Africans living in Georgian London.

What was the legal status of Africans under English law? How unusual was it for someone of African origin to achieve financial independence?

Dr. Miranda Kaufmann will explore these questions and others raised by Picton's life, which spans a fascinating period in which over 6,000 slave trading voyages were carried out under the British flag.

Miranda Kaufmann is a freelance historian and journalist, who has worked for The Sunday Times, the BBC and the National Trust. Her book, Black Tudors, will be published in 2016.

For further information about this event:

Contact: Dr Nicola Phillips
Email: n.phillips@kingston.ac.uk