THE FIRST BLACK BRITONS
How Slavery laid the foundation for today's multicultural Britain
1 x 60’
‘The First Black Britons’ is an epic and defining historical journey:
from slavery to heroes of the grand imperial age and a struggle for equality. It centres on the incredible hidden history of the British West Indies Regiment, and a unique act of parliament that
established them as a new class of citizen - 'Black British'.
The story reveals an era of challenges to colonial attitudes and notions of Britishness; covering the period 1795 to 1927.
The settings are London, West Africa and the Caribbean. Our historical voices include William
Pitt (the younger), William Wilberforce, slaves of Britain’s sugar colonies, Queen Victoria, Sgt William Gordon V.C. and a host of Imperial heroes and adventurers...
With the approaching 200th anniversary of the decision to end the British Slave Trade, (2007), this powerful story uncovers a unique social and historical record.
The First Black Britons is a dramatic story of Imperial High Adventure that sheds new light on how our colonial past shaped modern Britain. 
In the Napoleonic Wars, Britain sent an estimated 97,000
European troops to fight in the Caribbean (1793 to 1815). But 70% were killed by Malaria and yellow fever.
To bolster their forces, Britain raised a slave army, which
was so successful against the French that within 3 years there were 12 West India Regiments - numbering 11,000 Black men.
The WIR became so vital to British interests, the
government freed every man at a stroke by special act of parliament – 30 years before emancipation.
They received the same uniforms, weapons, training, pay and conditions as white troops - they
were even taught to read and write. 
The Caribbean 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 Caribbean, provided a cutting edge in the scramble for African territory, and forged a new British identity as
imperial heroes. 
Producer: Sweet Patootee
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