The First Black Britons

"With the stories of heroism and adventure, comes a dark and difficult legacy filled with uncomfortable truths and damning contradictions. The First Black Britons tells the story of the West India Regiment and a missing chapter in the making of modern Britain."
Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Commission for Equality & Human Rights.

The journey begins in the last years of the 18th century and ends in 1927 revealing an era of challenges to colonial attitudes and notions of Britishness. It centers on the incredible history of the West India Regiment and the act of parliament that established them as a new class of citizen - 'Black and British'.

The Carribbean is the hidden story of the Napoleonic wars. In 1793, fighting in the region triggered a national emergency, which led Britain's abolitionist Prime Minister William Pitt (the Younger), to create an entire regiment - of slaves. Over the next century, Pitt's 'warrior-caste' of 'superior Negroes' defended British interests in the Carribbean, provided a cutting edge in the scramble for African territory and forged a new British identity as imperial heroes.

But in 1927, during a short ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Lt.Col. W.Y. Miller presented the flag of the WIR to George V, who made a short acceptance speech and the West India Regiment ceased to exist.

This is a dramatic story of Imperial High Adventure that sheds new light on how our colonial past shaped modern Britain.

"...full of paradoxes and surprises." "Pupils at key stage 4 will find plenty to ponder and discuss."
Tom Deveson, BBC History Magazine