Throughout the eighteenth century the Royal Navy was the largest employer of free black labour in a period when Britain was - at the same time - the largest trader in human lives across the Atlantic. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Steve Martin, expert on black British history and literature, and who works with museums, archives and the education sector to bring diverse histories to wider audiences. They discuss the origins of black mariners who ended up in the Royal Navy, their status, skillsets, and career trajectories, their settlement patterns and Black radical culture.

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