Also a major presence in naval hospitals as nurses. Just how prevalent was obscured for over two centuries, because black nurses rarely showed up as individuals in pay records. Often they were slaves then later contracted servants, with a master/contract agent being paid for the service provision. - ThreadSky

garius.bsky.social • 21 days ago

Also a major presence in naval hospitals as nurses.

Just how prevalent was obscured for over two centuries, because black nurses rarely showed up as individuals in pay records.

Often they were slaves then later contracted servants, with a master/contract agent being paid for the service provision.

Reposted from Dreadnought Holiday

Many people are unaware that there were black sailors in the Royal Navy during the age of sail. If you mention it they assume you must have searched desperately to find some representation.

But do you know who really wanted to ensure these sailors were represented?

People at the time.

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helendamnation.bsky.social•21 days ago

there's a mary seacole leadership course in the nhs, but of course that's only relevant to people in the nhs who even hear about it.

kitncaboodle.bsky.social•21 days ago

Just literally finished a conference where a lot of the focus was on figuring out WHO was actually in the Union Navy during the civil war. As in where they came from, previous occupation (which was the tell for formerly enslaved persons along with description). absolutely FASCINATING stuff.

garius.bsky.social•21 days ago

Records are never impartial. They reflect the rules and logistics of the society that made them. That reflection doesn't have to be deliberate to be true.

New perspectives on old records can lead to history being better understood from the gaps.

garius.bsky.social•21 days ago

In this case, that started with researchers realising that it was worth asking WHY certain names seemed to draw a nursing wage that was considerably higher than the single-person rate.

garius.bsky.social•21 days ago

(My dream is to see a statue representing forgotten black naval nurses at our University of Greenwich campus at Chatham Dockyards, given we are well respected for our nursing courses)

garius.bsky.social•21 days ago

(We already have a building named after Mary Seacole, so it feels thematically the next step)

garius.bsky.social•21 days ago

But then i'd also like to see more recognition that one of the finest and most important military hospitals the British Army had in WW1 was staffed ENTIRELY by women, overtly suffragette as an institution and run by (almost certainly) a lesbian couple.

benwolfevision.bsky.social•21 days ago

In your copious free time, I’d love a history thread on this!

garius.bsky.social•21 days ago

They LITERALLY ran the suffragette flag up at the military hospital when women got the vote, to the sound of cheering and thunderous applause from the soldiers who were patients there.

It's note 'woke' history. It's just history.

sherryp.bsky.social•21 days ago

Thank you!

winter02.bsky.social•21 days ago

The carved reliefs at the base of Nelson’s column in Trafalgar Square show black sailors.

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