Over summer, the University of Lancaster released a statement suggesting that there has been racial diversity in England dating back tot he Middle Ages.
Two separate studies took place on seventh-century cemeteries - one in Updown, Kent and the other in Worth Matravers, Dorset - where the DNA analyses indicated that two individuals possessed African heritage.
As part of the study, multiple other individuals were examined, all having European, British or Irish bloodlines, except for two, a young woman and a young man. It is believed that they have a paternal grandfather born amongst a tribe in sub-Saharan West Africa, making these two individuals mixed race.
If we dig further, looking into geographical location and the time period, the findings make sense.
At the time of the fall of the Roman Empire, many migrated out of mainland Europe and over the English Channel to, what would later be called , Great Britain. As we know, the Roman Empire thrived on their use of chattel slavery, some of which were taken from Africa, even back in the Middle Ages. Due to the rise of Christianity and the move away from paganism, beliefs arose that those who did not follow Christianity were lesser and so it was easier to “rationalise” the capture and slavery of other races and their movement throughout Europe.
The discovery of these two individuals with mixed race ancestry (as well as other potential relatives), shows us that England’s population has historically been more diverse than is commonly perceived and it wouldn’t be surprising to find more such cases in the future!