I recently visited the ‘Unforgotten Lives’ exhibition at the London Metropolitan Archives in Clerkenwell. If you live in London or visit any time before 27th March 2024, the exhibition is well worth a look. Some of the stories may be relatively familiar (Olaudah Equiano, Ignatius Sancho, Dido Elizabeth Belle, etc) others will be new to just about everyone.
The story of John Satia was one I wasn’t familiar with. Born on Barbados in c1689, he was enslaved and brought to London when he was about two years old by Thomas Gerrard, a merchant.
Nothing is known of John’s early years in London but in 1725 he completed a seven year apprenticeship as a joiner and was admitted to the Worshipful Company of Joiners. In 1729 Thomas Gerrard died and left John an annuity of £10. On 7th September 1731 John’s application to become a Freeman of the City of London was considered by the Aldermen and was accepted, this allowed him to take on apprentices of his own and expand his business.
Just seven days later the Aldermen who considered the application (most of whom had links with the trade in enslaved people or with the East India Company) met again and decided that henceforth Black people were to be prohibited from obtaining Freedom of the City. This marked a new phase in the development of institutional racism. Although there is evidence that John was able to continue trading others were denied the opportunity to follow in his footsteps.
John Satia died in 1753 and was buried at St James, Clerkenwell.[1]https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/events/unforgotten-lives-exhibition
If you do visit the exhibition why not visit Spa Fields, scene of riots in 1816, directly across the road from the Archives. Now a pleasant public park, it is the ideal place for a sandwich on a sunny day, although it is hard to reconcile the neat and tidy park of today with its tumultuous past.
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