THE settlement of black people in the borough of Greenwich has often been assumed to be a relatively modern phenomenon.

However there is evidence to suggest black people were already living in the area as early as the 16th century.

Burgeoning commerce with the West Indies and the slave trade, which began in the 1560s, brought Greenwich into early contact with different cultures and peoples.

In 1596, the number of black people in Greenwich is said to have alarmed Queen Elizabeth I, who proclaimed: "The Queen's majesty... is highly discontented to understande the great number of negars and Blackamoores which (as she is informed) are crepte into this realme...".

Despite Her Majesty's concern, black people continued to arrive. The more affluent families took black servants into their homes, and more than a dozen are registered in 17th century parish records.

A sign of the growing integration of the black community, however, was the provision of care by the Greenwich authorities late in this century.

For those too old or infirm to make their living from the sea, the foundation in 1694 of the Royal Hospital for Seamen offered a way out of the dreaded workhouse. But for former slaves, it remained the final point of call.

If wealthy families decided a servant was redundant, the only option left to them was transportation back to plantation slavery or the workhouse.

In 1793, a black woman called Felicity was admitted to Greenwich workhouse, after a local man, Mr Campbell, promised to pay two shillings and sixpence per week towards her maintenance.

But he retained the option of returning his servant-slave to hardship in the Caribbean.

The attitude of the affluent families seems to have been one of amused condescension, such as that received by Australian aborigine, Yemmerawanyea Kebbarah, in 1793.

He had come to the attention of Admiral Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales. After spending some time at the governor's house, wearing European-style clothes and learning to wait at table, Phillip brought him to England.

But after a year, he succumbed to the rigorous British climate and died of flu or tuberculosis. He is buried in the grounds of St John's Church, Eltham.

In these years, one name stands out amongst the early black settlers. Ignatius Sancho was born on a slave ship in 1729. Orphaned two years later, he was brought to England and placed in the service of three sisters in Greenwich.

Deprived of education, the boy taught himself to read, and eventually came to the attention of the Duke and Duchess of Montague, who employed him as a butler.

The Duke encouraged Sancho's studies and the young man developed into a poet, playwright and composer. Moving amongst the cultured classes, Sancho's Letters, published posthumously, were immediate best-sellers.

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