An archaeology news story from Virginia USA tonight where work is ongoing to find the remains of the Great Contraband Camp created by escaped slaves.

The community began when three slaves - Shepherd Mallory, Frank Baker and James Townsend - sought sanctuary at Fort Monroe. The Confederate officer who owned them asked for their return under the ( Read more... )

Back in 2012 I posted a rec for an article in BBC History Magazine about the forgotten black citizens of Tudor England. The article appears to have now been posted in full on the HistoryExtra website and is well worth a read if you didn't catch it the first time around.


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The Virginia Historical Society has launched an incredible new resource for the history of the state.

This database is the latest step by the Virginia Historical Society to increase access to its varied collections relating to Virginians of African descent. Since its founding in 1831, the VHS has collected unpublished manuscripts, a collection ( Read more... )

Tonight, an interesting looking church :)


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A quick link to an interesting article tonight on Threaded - the Smithsonian historical fashion blog - about Elizabeth Keckley, a slave who bought her freedom and set up her own dressmaking business, becoming personal to the First Lady of the United States, Mary Todd Lincoln.

It's a fascinating read!

The Story of Elizabeth Keckley

Tonight, a new resource created by University College, London. The 'Legacies of British Slave-ownership' project traces the impact of slave ownership on the formation of modern Britain.

At the core of the project is a database containing the identity of all slave-owners in the British Caribbean at the time slavery ended. As the project unfolded, ( Read more... )

Today I've been reading about a very interesting African-American woman I'd never come across before - Frances Harper.

Frances E.W. Harper is considered the “Mother of African American Journalism” as well as the most famous nineteenth century African American poet and novelist. In her role as a political activist, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was ( Read more... )

Quick link tonight to a really interesting article about same-sex relationships in Ancient Roman society by Markus Milligan. Warning, this does mention sexual relationships between adults and child slaves and instances of mutilation of said slaves.

Roman Same-Sex, Slaves, and Lex Scantinia

I linked this on twitter a good while ago but forgot to post it here as well. From the fantastic blog 'Letters of Note' (beware, you can get stuck there for HOURS), comes this rather brilliant letter sent in 1865 from a freed slave to his old master in Tennessee, after the master had written to ask for him to come back to work ( Read more... )