Page 12 - BBC History - September 2017

History now / News

UNTOLD STORY
5 things you
might not
“Black prisoners were o!en know about…
bullied and robbed of their Jane Austen

clothing and possessions” Following the recent unveiling of
the new Jane Austen £10 banknote
– and the 200th anniversary of her
death – we bring you !ive facts
In 1796, more than 2,000 African-Caribbean men, about the English author.
women and children were transported from
St Lucia and imprisoned at Portchester Castle She enjoyed ball games
near Portsmouth. English Heritage curator Abigail 1 Jane loved, and excelled at, the
game bilbocatch. The game
Coppins (left) explores their little-known story involves a wooden cup with a handle,
and a small ball attached to the cup by
a string; the player tosses the ball and
Who were these men and this was agreed to, but only after the catches it in the cup. Jane could
women and how did they end supply of potatoes had been used up. allegedly catch the ball more than
up at Portchester Castle? 100 times in succession.
The men were soldiers in the French How did other prisoners at the
army serving in the local battalions castle react to their new cellmates? She was the first to write
on the Caribbean islands of St Lucia, Black prisoners were often bullied by about a doorbell
St Vincent and Guadeloupe. Slavery European prisoners who robbed them of 2 The Oxford English Dictionary
on these islands had been abolished by their clothing and possessions. Prison credits Jane as being the first-cited
France after the Revolution and most commissioners reported that “they [the author of 39 words. Double-bed, door-
of the freed slaves went into service PoWs] had been robbed and plundered bell and dinner-party are among them.
in the French army. When Fort by the European prisoners, they
She was engaged… for
Charlotte on St Lucia surrendered to the considering themselves as a superior race
one night
British in 1796, during the French of beings to the unfortunate Blacks”. The
3 In December 1802 Harris
Revolutionary Wars, the soldiers and decision was eventually taken to move
Bigg-Wither, the younger brother of her
their families were transported to Britain most of the African-Caribbean prisoners
close friends Elizabeth, Catherine and
as prisoners of war. onto two prison ships to protect them. Alethea, made a proposal of marriage to
Meanwhile, within a year or so of their Jane. Although she initially accepted, by
How were they treated when they arrival at Portchester, Britain and France the following morning Jane had changed
arrived at the castle? began exchanging PoWs. A decree of 1798 her mind, unwilling to marry a man she
The PoWs arrived in October 1796 and ordered that any black soldiers (and their did not love.
were completely unprepared for the cold families) who had returned to France
and wet weather – many had little from the colonies or English prisons She is remembered in space
clothing or no shoes. What’s more, many would have to go to the Ile d’Aix, off 4 The discovery of thousands of
of the prisoners were sick from the long the west coast of France, where they new surface features on Venus
between 1990 and 1992 saw one of
ship journey to Britain or injured from would be formed into one company.
them named after Jane Austen. The
fighting on St Lucia. Some did make it back to the Caribbean,
Jane Austen crater is 30 miles in
I was surprised to discover that prison though, where they were, and still are,
diameter and can be found in the
commissioners and doctors were celebrated as important freedom fighters planet’s southern hemisphere.
actually sympathetic to the plight of against slavery.
these men and women. They She had a sweet tooth
organised extra clothing for Abigail Coppins is curator of 5 Food and meals are referenced
the prisoners, such as vests, archaeological collections at often in Austen’s letters and she
thick socks and new shoes. English Heritage became fond of Bath buns (large cakes
The prison doctor also similar to French brioche bread, served
tried to feed them up with warm and soaked in butter) during her ENGLISH HERITAGE/GETTY IMAGES/
time in the city. Sponge cake was also a
extra potatoes, which they
favourite – in June 1808 she wrote to her
clearly didn’t like much, as
Portchester Castle, the unlikely sister: “You know how interesting the
within a week or two they home to African-Caribbean purchase of a sponge-cake is to me.”
requested bread instead. Even PoWs in the 18th century

12 BBC History Magazine