Empowering Black History: The First Maroon War with Britain

Thu, 17 Jun 2021, 19:00 BST

Jamaica’s Maroons – Paul Crooks speaks on a Black History that caused anxiety in Britain and North America during transatlantic enslavement.

When researching his family’s Black history, Paul Crooks discovered his great great great grandfather walked free from a sugar plantation in Jamaica in 1838. Paul wanted to know more about what lay behind the decision to free the enslaved people of the Caribbean.

There are many sides to Britain’s relationship with Africans in the Caribbean. This talk focuses on the Maroons of Jamaica who set the scene for liberation struggles to come. Did the Maroon war set in motion the decline of European transatlantic enslavement? You will draw your own conclusion on a particularly turbulent time in Black and British history.

WHO IS THIS TALK FOR?

The talk is suitable for you if;

  • you want to develop your knowledge and understanding of black history.
  • you’re new to exploring family history.
  • you have some experience of searching for your ancestors but want to develop your skills and knowledge further.
  • you’ve have started, but your hit difficulties moving forward with you search.

About the speaker:

Paul Crooks is unique as a published author and genealogist with specialist interest in Black ancestry and African Caribbean history.

Paul came to prominence with his pioneering research into African Caribbean genealogy During the 1990s, when he became the first to trace his family history back 6 generations, from London to his ancestors captured off the West African coast 200 years ago. He discovered his ancestors were enslaved on a sugar plantation in Jamaica.

His books Ancestors and a Tree Without Roots – The Guide To Tracing British, African And Asian Caribbean Ancestry has brought him international recognition for his breakthrough research into Black genealogy.

Paul Crooks has appeared on Who Do You Think You Are? with Moira Stuart as the expert in African Caribbean genealogy and has been recognised for inspiring an upsurge in interest in Black and British ancestry.