In 1772, Lord Chief Justice Mansfield’s
historic decision in the case of runaway John Somerset ruled that a
slave could not be deported from Britain against his or her will. This
was the beginning of the end of slavery in Britain itself, and an
encouragement to Black people and to abolitionist campaigners. The
abolition of slavery was confirmed in 1806 by an Act of Parliament.
As the 18th century drew to a close, Britain’s Black
population was well established, breaking free from slavery - but
usually very poor, sometimes destitute. The first-generation immigrants
were overwhelmingly male, supplemented by arrivals of Black sailors,
plus 4,000 Black refugees who had fought for George III against the
American Revolution. Black people integrated and intermarried into poor
white urban populations, and entered the nineteenth century sharing in
the misery and historical anonymity of the British poor.
