Black history summary – 1800 to 1919
This worksheet offers a sweeping overview of black history in Britain in the modern period, from abolition and empire-building to the start of the First World War. Students will also learn more about key individuals, including Sarah Forbes Bonetta, William Cuffay, Fanny Eaton, Mary Seacole and Walter Tull.
Mary Seacole was born in Jamaica. She is famed for selflessly travelling to the Crimea to nurse and provide shelter to British soldiers during the Crimean War. Despite her efforts to get to the Crimea, she was turned down from joining Florence Nightingale’s hospital at Scutari so instead she established an inn. Mary wrote a book on her experiences, The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands, in which she shared her life story and also the racism she had faced.
