I am a PhD student at Lancaster University currently researching Black Stuarts in early modern England. My MA thesis, entitled ‘Making “Space” for the Marginalised’ examined the use of spatial technologies in promoting subaltern and untold histories. Throughout my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, my interests have been in early modern society, trans-Atlantic slavery and the development of racist thoughts and actions.

My PhD project analyses the lives of Black Africans in Stuart England; a period that witnessed the emergence and growth of Britain’s trans-Atlantic slave trade alongside shifting racial ideologies. The research I undertake will produce a database of the African English (1603-1714) while also writing black individuals into the history of Early Modern English society. My project will offer original insights into the ways in which Empire altered the place, status, and careers of Africans in England. I hope in my research to unpack and decentre whiteness by exploring and showcasing this particular epoch of Black history. Britain’s multi-ethnic past remains hidden for the majority, behind victor histories and more mainstream subjects from this period. My PhD will hopefully rectify this.

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My MA trained me in techniques from the digital humanities which I used extensively in my dissertation. These techniques enabled me to offer a fresh perspective on early modern history through the use of ArcGIS mapping software. 

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Twitter: @_SophyM