Sarah Forbes Bone2a The Royal Protégée from Yoruba to Victorian England Captured as a child in present-day Nigeria and later rescued by a BriCsh aboliConist, Sarah was brought to England, where Queen Victoria became her benefactor. A symbol of empire, survival, and cross-cultural idenCty, she bridged two worlds while forging a unique place in BriCsh society. Image credit: Geoff Rambler’s Weird and Wonderful Kent
Fanny Eaton The Muse of the Pre-Raphaelites Born in Jamaica, Fanny Eaton became a favored model of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, her presence challenging Victorian ideals of beauty and race. Her image graced works by arCsts like RosseV and Millais, leaving a legacy of quiet power and visual poetry. Image credit: Pascal Theatre
Francis Williams Scholar, Poet, Astronomer, and Jamaican Polymath Born into a free, slaveholding family in Kingston, Jamaica, Francis Williams became one of the most notable Black intellectuals of the 18th century. Educated in England, he was officially recognized as a BriCsh subject, navigaCng the complexiCes of race, status, and empire with formidable intellect and eloquence. Image credit: Wikipedia
Prince Alemayehu Tewodros of Ethiopia An Ethiopian Prince in Exile The son of Emperor Tewodros II, young Prince Alemayehu was taken to Britain following the 1868 BriCsh invasion of Ethiopia. Removed from his homeland and royal lineage, he lived under the care of Captain Tristram Speedy—an exile shaped by imperial conquest and tragic displacement. Image by Jabez Hughes, 1868 – National Portrait Gallery
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor The Composer Who Defied Boundaries Born to a Sierra Leonean father and white English mother, Coleridge-Taylor emerged as a celebrated composer in Edwardian England. A classmate of Holst and Vaughan Williams, he infused classical music with African themes, challenging racial barriers with symphonic grace. Image published by Breitkopf & Härtel, c. 1905 – NaPonal Portrait Gallery
Dido Elizabeth Belle. Daughter of an enslaved woman and a British naval officer, Dido Belle was raised among the English aristocracy at Kenwood House.Cropped painting of Dido Belle with her cousin once attributed to Johann Zoffany, 1779. Photograph: Courtesy of the Earl of Mansfield/Scone Palace