Repro ID: E9905
Title: The notorious Black Billy ‘at home’ to a London street party.
Description: In the 17th and 18th centuries, thousands of free and enslaved Africans found themselves in Britain, either as result of working at sea or as a consequence of being compelled to move with their masters. Once in Britain, many ran away from their masters. A number earned a living in London as minstrels and street entertainers. Runways lived in fear of being captured by their former masters and forced back to the plantations.
Creator: Sutherland; after S. Alken; Thomas Kelly
Date: March 1823
Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London, Michael Graham-Stewart slavery collection
