Historians, when they write history, have at the back of their minds a particular thesis that they want to explore or prove to be correct, sometimes this means that the thesis itself is more important than the history.
This is the case with Black Convicts by Santilla Chingaipe and its by-line ‘How slavery shaped Australia’; this determination to find the evidence to prove her thesis has sometimes led the author to make some historical generalisations.
Now despite this caveat, Black Convicts is in fact a well-researched book, which examines two broad themes. Firstly, the trans-Atlantic slave trade in all its appalling detail and the way in which many British plantation owners in the West Indies circumvented the abolition of the slave trade and the so-called ‘freeing’ of those slaves. The detail of the historical research is impressive as the author visited the sites associated with the slave trade and delved into the primary sources that were available. Some interesting facts arose, including the protection of slaves who fought in the American War of Independence for the British, and when the British lost, the new American Government demanded that their ‘property’ be returned.
The other theme is the arrival of ‘black convicts’ in Australia and their impact on society. The first fleet (1788) had 15 ‘black convicts’ out of 780, the majority of whom had found their way from the West Indies either as convicted felons or committed crimes in Britain. One of these convicts was to become Australia’s first bushranger, going by the name of Black Caesar, who had been born in Madagascar, a servant in England who was charged with theft and sentenced to transportation for seven years, and in 1795 took to theft and led the colonial authorities declaring him an outlaw.
Over the period of transportation, which ended in NSW in 1840, 500 more ‘black convicts’ both male and female arrived in Australia, not just from the West Indies but also from Mauritius. Many convicts received their tickets of leave but were still subjected to prejudice and discrimination. Some, like James Williams, who pioneered sugar growth in Australia, have been ignored in the historical records.
The other interesting area which the author explores is the relationship between the Indigenous peoples and the ‘black convicts/freemen’. While some ‘black convicts/freemen’ seemed to have been welcomed and accepted by the Indigenous peoples, others became involved in the destruction and dispossession of the Indigenous peoples.
This is an engaging and interesting read about an area of Australian history that hitherto has not been explored, and it adds to our understanding of the broad history of
our nation.
Reviewed by Anthony Llewellyn-Evans
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Santilla Chingaipe is a Zambian-born filmmaker, historian and author, whose work explores settler colonialism, slavery, and contemporary migration in Australia.
Chingaipe’s first book of non-fiction Black Convicts and the critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary inspired by the book, Our African Roots, is streaming on SBS On Demand.
The recipient of several awards, she was recognised at the United Nations as one of the most influential people of African descent in the world in 2019. She delivered the annual E.W Cole lecture in 2023 on ‘Who Gets to Write History?’, and her work has been published internationally by The New York Times, The Guardian, The BBC, and elsewhere.
Chingaipe is a regular contributor to The Saturday Paperand is the founder of Behind The Screens, an annual program supported by VicScreen, aimed at increasing the representation of people historically excluded from the Australian film industry.
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