Haringey's African, Caribbean, Asian and Indigenous Heritage, 1610 to 1840

"Walter Anberey the sonne of Nosser Anberey borne in the kingdom of Dungala in Africa, was baptized upon the thirde day of February being Shrove Sundaie, in the Eighte yeare of Kinge James, anno, 1610" 
(From All Hallows, Tottenham records within London Metropolitan Archives

The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) has just announced the publication of a new project dataset, Switching the Lens - Rediscovering Londoners of African, Caribbean, Asian and Indigenous Heritage, 1561 to 1840.
 
This resource focuses on records of over 2600 people of colour found in Anglican parish registers at LMA and is the result of research carried out by staff and volunteers which began in 2000 and continues today at LMA.

The LMA writes

London has long been home to a very diverse population, a fact often obscured by mainstream British history which traditionally excludes the histories of people of colour, centres ‘whiteness’ and upholds narratives constructed by colonialism. The project name reflects the variety and breadth of the contribution made by Londoners from many diverse communities.

'Rediscovering’ embraces the fact that this history has always been present; ‘Switching the Lens’, that we are taking a proactive approach to highlight it more widely.   

Switching the Lens offers an exciting and intriguing insight into the lived experiences of people arriving in London from the 16th to 19th centuries. It helps to reframe perceptions of immigration and presents materials to develop a deeper understanding of the complex historical relationships between London, the UK and the world.

The new dataset is available to search within the LMA Collections Catalogue.

Within the dataset, you can search by borough and find that Haringey has a good handful of 18th and even 17th century records. In fact the oldest record in Haringey (see top picture) misses the 16th century by only ten years. (I wonder if the naming of Dongola Road is related - or should I stay away from road names!)