This book is full of relevant and exciting detail, which is presented in a reader-friendly way. It tracks the story of ten Black Tudors from a variety of classes and locations, including a royal trumpeter, a porter, a silk weaver and an independent, single woman. Kaufmann is passionate about overturning long-held misconceptions about immigration and the place of Black Tudors in English society. Her argument is convincing, her enthusiasm infectious and her style accessible and never dull. Kaufmann shows that, by Tudor times, Black people were present at the royal courts of Henry VII, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and James I. The book also uses stories to explain that Black Tudors lived and worked at many levels of society. For example, you’ll read about Diego, a sailor who was enslaved by the Spanish in Panama. Diego came to Plymouth and died in Moluccas, having circumnavigated half the globe with Sir Francis Drake.

The National Archives give access to original documents (and transcripts) that offer a powerful glimpse into the experiences of Black Tudors in England. These resources could be placed at the heart of an inquiry. Available materials include papers relating to claims and counterclaims before the High Court of Admiralty for the deposition of Anthony de Nicholao Rimero (a Venetian sailor and occasional ‘drinking pal’ of Pietro Paulo Corso), featuring statements from Corso’s Black diver, Jacques Francis, and other named servants of Corso’s. These fantastic resources also include an entry on the Freemen’s Roll of the City of York, which shows that John Moore, a wealthy member of York, became a freeman of the city. A council minute book from York shows Moore paying £4 to the mayor to enjoy all the privileges of freedom of the city. (Another page on the site shows resources relating to the trumpeter John Blanke: see next resource.)

This five-minute video clip details the importance of John Blanke as a historical figure – made clear by the fact that there is a record not only of his name and picture, but of his successful wage increase negotiations with Henry VIII. It traces back the evidence of his role in Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII’s ill-fated New Year’s Day celebrations of the birth of their son. This clip would be suitable to all students, but students with weaker literacy levels might need an accompanying vocabulary sheet. You can access this clip by signing up to ERA using your institution details.

Using new evidence presented by the discovery of Tudor skeletons during work on a new London train line, experts David Olusoga and Miranda Kaufmann delve into key sources at the National Archives to discuss the answers to the key questions surrounding the Black Tudors: Why did these mass movements of people take place? What was the experience of the migrants? And how did their comings and goings affect this country and its people? Significantly, Dr Kaufmann concludes that some Black people in England were accorded greater privileges than many white English people at the time.

This clip explores the role and value of representative art at the Tudor court, to expand on the context of the Westminster Tournament roll depicting John Blanke.