Module: HST6755 A Golden Age: The Life and Times of Elizabeth I
By: Storm Clayton
Identity in the Elizabethan period was defined by the ability to discern distinct differences between people through the marks of ‘otherness’. Race was undoubtedly important as a characteristic of identity, as for the most part, those considered to be outsiders were also considered to be of a different race. The idea that race was based in biological factors was not present in the early modern period and so the question arises as to whether race is limited to skin colour and other physical markers, specifically. Historians, such as James H. Sweet, have noted the difficultly in using the word ‘race’ in the early modern period as there is a lack of separation between what we now regard as ‘culture’ and ‘race’.[1] Further difficulties in defining ‘race’ arose when historiography of race moved towards comparing the Irish population to the identification of skin colour: Sujata Iyengar questions whether the status of the Irish as a colonised nation affords them an identity of being a different race, similar to that of ‘blackness’.[2] However, as the early modern period marks the start of the rise of the rhetoric of slavery in the African continent with western cultures, giving way to the slave trade, this essay will work on the basis that skin colour was the ultimate marker of ‘race’. Other markers of who could be considered an outsider might be the way people speak, their religion and the job they might do within society. The Elizabethan period saw the beginnings of a strong national English identity and new ideas of colonialism and slavery, all of which pertain to the idea that race was the most important characteristic of identity.
Race, that being mostly marked by a person’s skin colour, has always formed the identity of black people. Despite the common perception that black people didn’t inhabit England until the mid 17th Century, there is overwhelming evidence of black Africans living in England from the reign of Henry VIII. Historians and popular media have begun to acknowledge the lives of these people, with an attempt to try and understand their experience in Tudor England.[3] However, as this period falls before the height of the slave trade, there is a misunderstanding of how race formed the identity and experience of these people. The understanding that they were not slaves and therefore treated with relative ‘acceptance’[4] is misleading and removes the experience and voices of this marginalised group. There is a significant lack of sources available from the black population at the time and this only serves to make it harder to understand the experience of identity of black people. Most of the understanding of race and the identity of the black population comes from official documents from the Privy Council, art, plays and literature. Thus, this is only useful in understanding how other people used race to shape the identity of black Africans, rather than how race shaped perception of their own identity.
At the start of the seventeenth century, the Privy Council passes a series of documents that authorised the removal of black people from England. These documents label them as “N*****s and Blackamoors”[5] and is undeniable evidence as to how race was an extremely important characteristic of identity. These edicts, though believed to never have been publicly proclaimed, suggest that a narrative of slavery and links with the black population had already begun to emerge in England.[6] Rather than reading these documents simply as an act of expulsion, they can give greater insight into how black people had moved from simply being an unwanted population to being treated as commodities – and later, slaves. The edict grants Casper Van Senden licence for “the speedy transportation”[7] of the blackamoors from England to Spain and Portugal. Van Senden was given this opportunity as payment for his great effort in liberating English prisoners from Spain “who would have otherwise perished there”[8]. This language holds the implication that the black population were being transported as a gift or reward for Van Senden’s service to the crown. To be treated as a gift, as a commodity, implies that these black people had absolutely no rights or freedom in the realm and their movements were controlled by the whim of Elizabeth. Blackness was a significant marker of race, and their race ultimately shaped their movement and experience as well as their identity.
In addition to being treated as commodities, the black population were treated more as possessions rather than people. The language in this document creates a direct link between blackness and race and this then shaped their identity as possessions. Though not directly called slaves, this edict implies a power relationship between the blackamoors and their ‘masters’, one of which goes beyond a simple ‘master’ and ‘employer’ relationship.
This edict states that any person which be “possessed of any such blackamoors”[9] should send them at Her Majesty’s pleasure. To call them the “possession” of someone else fits the rhetoric of slavery and ownership. This idea of possession suggests not only that these ‘masters’ own these black Africans but that they belong solely to their masters. Furthermore, this belief is similar to that which is present during the slave trade; black Africans are uncivilised, barbarous and are treated as less than humans. Emily Weissbourd also believes that these edicts should be read less as acts of expulsions, but the beginning of the narrative of blackness being linked with slavery.[10] Weissbourd argues that previous royal proclamations which aim to expel a group of people from England, have specified a date by which they should depart.[11] They have also been directed at that particular population group, making it their responsibility to leave. With this edict on the expulsion of blackamoors, they are not directly addressed to which suggests that black Africans in no way have agency. This point only highlights how this document should be read as a prelude to the rhetoric of slavery in England and the narrative of blackness being a marker of race – shaping their identity as nothing more than commodities and possessions.
Race was an important characteristic of identity not only in England, but also in the English colonies in North America. With culture and race almost indistinguishable in this period, physical markers such as skin colour and the way the body behaves became a way to identify and separate groups of people. In the colonies of North America, a language of Natural Philosophy emerged, in which the English colonists began to assess certain bodies as superior and inferior.[12] Much work on the emergence of the racial narrative between Native Americans and English colonists was based on the cultural differences between the group and how this eventually formed the dominant racial ideology. However, physical differences were first used to distinguish and identify these groups of people. Prominent beliefs about bodily superiority was based in the ability to eat and digest certain foods.[13] English colonists noted that Native Americans couldn’t digest the meat the English ate but they could eat things such as grain, which the English could not. This was interpreted as the English bodies being superior to that of the Native Americans. These beliefs of fixed bodily traits that are specific to people of a race, with one skin colour, informed the American attitude towards different racial groups and American racial narrative.
Race was an important characteristic of identity for groups other than black Africans. Elizabethan England saw an influx of the Muslim population, and this group was referred to as either ‘infidels’ or ‘Moors’.[14] There were significant racial tensions along the Muslim and Christian border and physical appearance set to mark the Muslims further apart from the Christians, more so than just their religion alone. Skin colour, for Muslims, became a way for the Christians to identify and vilify the Infidel.[15] There was some distinction amongst Muslims as their skin colour varied from very light, almost white, to very dark and ‘black’.[16] Christians seemed to believe there was a possibility for Muslims to be civilised, refined and cultured and this was on the basis of their skin colour. Muslims appeared at the English court many times on official business, such as in 1600 with the proposal of a military alliance against the Spanish. Muslim ambassadors from Morocco were sent to London to unite English and African forces – one very striking portrait displays this event. This portrait of the ‘Moorish Ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I’[17] (Figure 1) reflects the belief that some Moors are respectable, noble and to be treated well if it served English political needs, but more importantly, if they were light skinned.[18]
(Figure 1) Unknown Artist, Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammad Anoun, Moorish Ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I, 1600. Oil on Oak Panel, Birmingham.
This portrait reveals much about the forging of an identity for Muslims in Elizabethan England. Their identity and hence their experience, can be defined by whether they were light or dark skinned. This impressive portrait of the Moorish Ambassador shows him to be commanding, elegant, graceful and above all, noble. He commands the audience’s attention with his fierce gaze, implying at best, a dissatisfaction at his status at the English court. This portrait commemorated his discussions at court and its commission alone reflects the view the English held that some Moors were noble.[19] Queen Elizabeth was one of the first monarchs to co-operate so openly with Muslims, allowing trade and interactions between the English and the Muslim ‘Moors’ of North Africa.[20] This however was restricted to those ‘Moors’ who were deemed to be noble, as reflected within the portrait. The ambassador is depicted as light skinned, again another demonstration of how race and skin colour defines the identity and the experience of people in England. Muslims were separated even amongst themselves based on their race: this distinction shaped their identity in England to be treated as noble and respected if light-skinned or uncivilised and barbarous if darker-skinned. Either way, race was a very important characteristic of identity for Muslims in the Elizabethan period.
In the Elizabethan period, London was an extremely multicultural place and was “pre-eminently an immigrant city”[21]. The identity of these immigrants was defined by a number of things, such as occupation and nationality. In this case, race played no part in forming the identity of these immigrants, rather it was their status as ‘aliens’ and their occupations in England that formed their identity.[22] ‘Aliens’ was a term given to anyone born outside of the realm and it had been used since the late Medieval period. Jacob Selwood notes the continuation of the term ‘alien’ to refer to the immigrant population in London, namely the French or the Dutch.[23] This further suggests that London continued to grow as an immigrant city and that the need to create a separate identity for these immigrants also grew stronger. In London, French and Dutch protestants outnumbered all other immigrant groups, setting them distinctly apart from everyone else.[24] Although England was also a Protestant nation at this time, the people of London found a way to set them apart by creating new stereotypes of these outsiders. The jobs that these groups of people would do were often ones similar to what they did in their home countries and this is what formed the English perception of them as ‘aliens’. French and Dutch protestants often took jobs as merchants or artisans and these roles implied a sense of unity and cohesion, which Londoners often mistook as conspiracy and wilful intent to harm the English. Their identity as ‘aliens’ was most prominent in times of crisis, economic or not – immigrants were used as blame and as scapegoats. In many instances ‘aliens’ were cast as a drain on the realm and as “pestering the city”[25]. It is clear that occupation and nationality were the key characteristics of identity for these immigrants in London, setting them aside from the English and casting them aside as ‘aliens’.
Official laws and legislation also acted as characteristics of identity in the Elizabethan period. The poor and the vagrant were often treated as outsiders, their precarious place in society was important in shaping their identity in the minds of people and in official legislation. Historians have acknowledged the Elizabethan distinction between the deserving and undeserving poor and how these labels greatly affected how people were treated.[26] Those who were deserving poor were people such as widows, those with illness or old age – these people were treated less as outsiders and were even offered relief under the Elizabethan Poor Laws. However, people who were able-bodied or doing unlawful labour were classed as the undeserving poor and held a rather undesirable position in society and were often treated as outsiders. The identification of the undeserving poor and vagrants as outsiders served to create harmony and a national English identity.[27] Ideas of commonwealth circulated where the common good of the country depended on the maintenance of health and harmony – vagrants were a cancer that had to be cut from the body.[28] This idea was powerful and shaped the identity and experience of the vagrant and undeserving poor.
In conclusion, race was an extremely important characteristic of identity for people in England, North America and even throughout Europe. People in Elizabethan England sought to define themselves and their national identity by forging identity for people considered as ‘outsiders’.[29] Many things helped define the identity of a person; their job, their religion or even their status in society. French and Dutch Protestants were treated as ‘outsiders’ due to the suspicious nature of their work. The undeserving poor and vagrant poor were also treated like outsiders due to the rising belief of commonwealth and the contribution that all people pay in society. However, race was the key characteristic in forging identities for many groups of people in Elizabethan England. Race in this period was ultimately marked by a person’s skin colour: blackamoors, Moors of North Africa and Native Americans were all set apart and treated differently by the English on the basis of their skin colour. Identifying the treatment of blackamoors based on their skin colour can reveal much about the origins of the racist narrative of the North Atlantic Slave trade. Ideas about slavery and ownership were emerging in Elizabethan England, and while the voices of these blackamoors were often silenced, by understanding the role race played in forging identity, their experience may be understood in greater depth.
Footnotes
[1] J H. Sweet, ‘The Iberian Roots of American Racist Thought’ The William and Mary Quarterly, 54/2 (1997), p. 144.
[2] S. Iyengar, Shades of Difference: Mythologies of Skin Colour in Early Modern England (University Press Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, 2004), p. 80.
[3] ‘Tudor, English and Black – and not a slave in sight’ The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/29/tudor-english-black-not-slave-in-sight-miranda-kaufmann-history [accessed 24th March 2020]
[4] Ibid.
[5] Draft Proclamation on the expulsion of ‘Negroes and Blackamoors’ (1601) at the British Library, https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/draft-proclamation-on-the-expulsion-of-negroes-and-blackamoors-1601 [accessed 24th March 2020]
[6] E. Weissbourd, ‘”Those in Their Possession”: Race, Slavery and Queen Elizabeth’s “Edicts of Expulsion”’ Huntington Library Quarterly, 78/1 (2015), p. 8.
[7] License to deport Black People, Tudor Royal Proclamations, at the National Archives https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/early_times/transcripts/deportation_van_senden.htm [accessed 25th March 2020]
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Weissbourd, ‘Those in Their Possession”: Race, Slavery and Queen Elizabeth’s “Edicts of Expulsion”’.
[11] Ibid, p. 10.
[12] J. Chaplin, ‘Natural Philosophy and an Early Racial Idiom in North America: Comparing English and Indian Bodies’ The William and Mary Quarterly, 54/1 (1997), p. 230.
[13] Ibid, p. 240.
[14] ‘Portrait of the Moorish Ambassador to the Queen’ The British Library, https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/portrait-of-the-moorish-ambassador-to-queen-elizabeth-i [accessed 25th March 2020]
[15] J. Sweet, ‘The Iberian Roots of American Racist Thought’ The William and Mary Quarterly, 54/1 (1997), p. 150.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Unknown Artist, Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammad Anoun, Moorish Ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I, 1600. Oil on Oak Panel, Birmingham.
[18] ‘Portrait of the Moorish Ambassador to the Queen’
[19] ‘Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammad Anoun, Moorish Ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I’ Art UK https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/abd-el-ouahed-ben-messaoud-ben-mohammed-anoun-b-1558-moorish-ambassador-to-queen-elizabeth-i-34714 [accessed 30th March 2020]
[20] N. I. Matar, ‘Muslims in Seventeenth-Century England’ Journal of Islamic Studies, 8/1 (1997), p. 64.
[21] ‘Multiculturalism in Shakespeare’s Plays” The British Library, https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/multiculturalism-in-shakespeares-plays# [accessed 26th March]
[22] M. Davies, ‘Aliens, crafts and guilds in late Medieval London’ in E. New and C. Steer (eds.), Medieval Londoners: essays to mark the eightieth birthday of Caroline M. Barron (University of London Press: London, 2019), p. 119.
[23] J. Selwood, Diversity and Difference in Early Modern London (Ashgate: Surrey, 2010), p.1.
[24] Ibid, p. 3.
[25] Ibid, p. 51.
[26] C. Schen, ‘Constructing the Poor in Early Seventeenth-Century London’ Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, 32/3 (2000), p. 451.
[27] S. Hindle, ‘Poverty and the Poor Laws’ in S. Doran and N.L. Jones (eds.), The Elizabethan World (London, 2011).
[28] Ibid.
[29] E. Said, Orientalism (Routledge: London, 1978), p. 9.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Draft Proclamation on the expulsion of ‘Negroes and Blackamoors’ (1601) at the British Library, https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/draft-proclamation-on-the-expulsion-of-negroes-and-blackamoors-1601 [accessed 24th March 2020].
License to deport Black People, Tudor Royal Proclamations, at the National Archives https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/early_times/transcripts/deportation_van_senden.htm [accessed 25th March 2020].
Unknown Artist, Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammad Anoun, Moorish Ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I, 1600. Oil on Oak Panel, Birmingham.
Secondary Sources
Chaplin, J. ‘Natural Philosophy and an Early Racial Idiom in North America: Comparing English and Indian Bodies’ The William and Mary Quarterly, 54/1 (1997), pp. 229-252.
Davies, M. ‘Aliens, crafts and guilds in late Medieval London’ in E. New and C. Steer (eds.), Medieval Londoners: essays to mark the eightieth birthday of Caroline M. Barron (University of London Press: London, 2019).
Hindle, S. ‘Poverty and the Poor Laws’ in S. Doran and N.L. Jones (eds.), The Elizabethan World (London, 2011).
Iyengar, S. Shades of Difference: Mythologies of Skin Colour in Early Modern England (University Press Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, 2004).
Matar, N.I. ‘Muslims in Seventeenth-Century England’ Journal of Islamic Studies, 8/1 (1997), pp. 63-82.
Said, Edward. Orientalism (Routledge: London, 1978).
Schen, C. ‘Constructing the Poor in Early Seventeenth-Century London’ Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, 32/3 (2000), pp. 450-463.
Selwood, J. Diversity and Difference in Early Modern London (Ashgate: Surrey, 2010).
Sweet, J.H. ‘The Iberian Roots of American Racist Thought’ The William and Mary Quarterly, 54/2 (1997), pp. 143-166.
Weissbourd, E. ‘”Those in Their Possession”: Race, Slavery and Queen Elizabeth’s “Edicts of Expulsion”’ Huntington Library Quarterly, 78/1 (2015), pp. 1-19.
Websites
‘Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammad Anoun, Moorish Ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I’ Art UK https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/abd-el-ouahed-ben-messaoud-ben-mohammed-anoun-b-1558-moorish-ambassador-to-queen-elizabeth-i-34714 [accessed 30th March 2020]
‘Multiculturalism in Shakespeare’s Plays” The British Library, https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/multiculturalism-in-shakespeares-plays# [accessed 26th March]
‘Portrait of the Moorish Ambassador to the Queen’ The British Library, https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/portrait-of-the-moorish-ambassador-to-queen-elizabeth-i [accessed 25th March 2020]
‘Tudor, English and Black – and not a slave in sight’ The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/29/tudor-english-black-not-slave-in-sight-miranda-kaufmann-history [accessed 24th March 2020]
Really interesting article. More from this author please