Unforgotten LIves
This project gives us a powerful, interactive and immediate sense of the connection between past and present: between the streets we continue to walk on today, and the places where people of African, Caribbean, Asian and Indigenous heritage made their marks centuries before. Explore the interactive map that details people’s baptisms, burials and some marriages, or follow the journey. Or, follow 135 journeys drawn from the several thousand entries that make up the Switching the Lens database, where approximately a quarter of parish records make reference to that person’s place of origin.
FLOW MAP
This animated map visualises the truly global range of places people in the Unforgotten Lives exhibit came from. It shows 135 journeys drawn from the several thousand entries that make up the Switching the Lens database, where approximately a quarter of parish records make reference to that person’s place of origin.
INTERACTIVE MAP
This interactive map displays 3,302 of entries in the London Metropolitan Archives’ Switching the Lens database, detailing people’s baptisms, burials and some marriages. Each person’s life was therefore tied in some way to a parish, represented on the map by a church symbol.
Ignatius Sancho’s London
This project showcases evidence about the life and times of Ignatius Sancho, one of the eighteenth-century’s most important Black Britons. Born enslaved, Sancho came to occupy a unique position in London society that straddled the elite social worlds of the aristocracy and the everyday life of the city.
STORYMAP
Interested in learning more about the remarkable life of Charles Ignatius Sancho in eighteenth century London? Explore this is interactive narrative built with ArcGIS StoryMaps to uncover the stories, people, and histories behind the Ignatius Sancho’s London Map.
INTERACTIVE
Explore the interactive map of locations from The Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an African (1782) that paint a picture of Ignatius Sancho as once a husband, father, entrepreneur, musician, abolitionist, literary writer – and the first documented Black person to vote in a parliamentary election.
Mapping Mary Prince
StoryMap
Explore the harrowing life of Mary Prince in this exhibit, tracing the locations she described in her powerful 1831 narrative, The History of Mary Prince. Follow her journey from her birthplace in Bermuda to the many places she lived and worked, culminating in her involvement with the Anti-Slavery Society in London. Engage with an interactive map to walk in Prince’s steps and witness firsthand the brutal realities of enslavement.
Arts in London
Exhibit
The exhibit explores the lives and legacies of Ira Aldridge, George Bridgetower, Fanny Eaton, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Pablo Fanque, uncovering common threads of resilience, artistry, and trailblazing contributions within their respective artistic fields. These individuals broke racial barriers and left an indelible mark on 19th-century culture. Their stories collectively highlight the profound impact of Black artists and performers during this era.
