Runaways London
History, storytelling and escape from slavery in 17th & 18th Century London
“The history of Britain and slavery isn’t just about the accumulation of wealth via the brutal enslavement of Africans and racialised terror that occurred thousands of miles away in the Caribbean. It’s also about how the enslaved were forced to live and work here on British soil and courageously resisted their captivity at every turn possible, seeking freedom. That Black history is British history. It belongs to all of us.”
Between the 1650s and 1780s many hundreds of enslaved people were brought to London. Most were African although a significant minority were South Asian. While in the capital some attempted to escape and, on occasions, those who pursued them placed advertisements in newspapers seeking the capture and return of these freedom-seekers. The average age of the runaways was just 16.
Taking the historical research of Professor Simon Newman and Dr Peggy Brunache as the starting point, a group of poets and artists investigated what these advertisements don’t tell us about the lives of enslaved Londoners; creating work speaking to the powerful silences surrounding these advertisements.
The creative work is published in an anthology by Ink Sweat & Tears Press and was launched at the Museum of London Docklands in October 2021 alongside a film and a resource pack for schools. The book, the film and the resource pack are available for free online at the Runaways London project page.
London Gazette, 1 October 1726
London Gazette, 29 January 1712
Project credits
London Gazette, 20 October 1701
Poets: Abena Essah, Momtaza Mehri, Gboyega Odubanjo, Oluwaseun Olayiwola and Memoona Zahid
Artists: Tasia Graham and Olivia Twist
Editor: Fahad Al-Amoudi
Historical research and academic support: Professor Simon P. Newman and Dr. Peggy Brunache
Project publisher: Ink Sweat & Tears Press
Academic Partner: The University of Glasgow’s Runaway Slaves in Britain Project
Project managed by Spread the Word.
Runaways is supported and funded by: The British Association for American Studies/United States Embassy Small Grants Programme; Economic and Social Research Council, Impact Acceleration Award; University of Glasgow Knowledge Exchange (KE) Small Grants 2020/21; City of London Grants and through private donations.