de bene esse: Brief History of Black People In Europe

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Jan Mostaerts portrait of a nobleman guest of the Queen of Austria photo

It is generally known that Black people have resided in European countries since the early colonial period but before the 15th century and during Roman empire - a time when skin colour was not a racist stigma but a mere physical feature - Black people lived in Europe. Remains of a man with African features were found in England recently, dating his life to the 13th century. Read this article for more information.

Evidence of Black people living in different parts of Europe have been unearthed, although one does not wish to overstate their presence or influence. It is generally known that during the Muslim era of the Iberian Peninsula - 8th century AD until the 15th century AD - people with dark skin were part of daily live.

The Moors who invaded Spain and Portugal in 700 AD were a mixture of Black and dark people from North-Africa, often referred to as Maures, wrote about and painted long before the dehumanization of Black people began.

Above is Jan Mostaert’s portrait of a nobleman, guest of the Queen of Austria, this painting dates back to the early 1500′s in what is now called Belgium, then a part of the Duchy of Brabant. There is no doubt this man has African roots while being a respected member of European culture. We may surmise that this man is of Maure (Moor) origin, i.e. a Muslim having converted to Christianity or second or third generation of converts.

Al Andalus
Many black Muslims converted to Christianity after the emirate of Al Andalus was abolished at the end of 15th century but the Reconquista took centuries (8th-15th century) and during the period, Black people gradually integrated the Christian and Northern European world. Among them were noble men and scholars. The negative image of Blacks as natural slaves gained prominence in the 18th century when the transatlantic slave trade became a central piece of European economic activity and later when European nation-states were established.

Slavery and Racism
Certainly slavery existed before racism. In the 15th century Blacks and Whites were enslaved indiscriminately. Blacks in the Americas could become free men and own their own slaves and land, which was rather common in colonial Brazil. Only in later years did being Black make you a slave forever and by birth or at least an inferior human. This racial perspective on identity and humanity only gained authority in later modern times. Read more on the subject here.

Coat of Arms

Wappen von Bad Sulza

Black people formed part of European imagination and reality from early on, read more ~~here~~ and ~~here~~. We can say with certainty that there were Black people in Europe before White people reached the area south of the Sahara. North Africa, Iberia and the Middle East were the crossroad where Black and White intermingled. In Europe references to Blacks was a positive sign of strength and military power. Still today you can find many Blacks in coat of arms for towns all over Europe, central, south and north, dating to the middle ages.

Some Literature
After the 15th century, Portugal entered an intense relationship with African kingdoms in the Gulf of Guinea and the Congo coasts. Slave trade, though not based on race but exchange between the kings led to the presence of Europeans on the West and Central African shores, just as Africans in Portugal.
Accounts from those days tell us that the sight of Black people in the streets of Lisbon was not a rarity during the Middle Ages, on the contrary. We refer to following books for those who want to know more about this topic:
Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, Thomas Foster Earle,K. J. P. Lowe(eds.)
Africa’s discovery of Europe, David Northrup
As a consequence of the slave trade free Blacks also arrived in Europe between the 16th and 19th century. Blacks lived in London, Liverpool, Lisbon, Seville, … during the 17th and 18th century. Other historical books with scientific authority give you in depth knowledge of this:
Hugh Thomas’s ‘The Slave Trade’
Ivan Van Sertima’s ‘African Presence in Early Europe’

These publications teach us something about this hidden part of European history.

Leo Africanus
Leo Africanus is often stated as one of the Black and European noble men and scholars but it is speculation to state he was Black or White. He was definitely a Maure, but as racism, Whiteness and Blackness were unknown concepts as we know them today, we cannot know his ‘race’ for certain. This should not surprise anyone. Common socio-cultural concepts today such as ‘French’, ‘German’ or ‘English’ did not exist in then and it would be silly to argue whether historical figures of those days were German or French and is valid for the White and Black race as defined today.

Famous Europeans with African ancestry (1500-1900)
Below is a list of famous figures of European modern history (after 1500) who happened to be Black or have African ancestry, but were integral parts of European (high) society. Most of the time the African ancestry of these people is ignored by history books although acknowledged and accepted by most history scholars. It throws a new light on the concepts of race and the meaning of Blackness in the 21st century.