A new article has claimed, based on research by Dr Rebecca Redfern, that many plague victims in medieval London were black Africans and that this is because of racism. However, a look at the sources justifying this claim reveals it cannot stand up to scrutiny.
Video from https://www.youtube.com/@Survivethejive
How on earth can the Black Death prove Britain was racist in the 14th century? That's the incendiary claim from the Museum of London after it examined just a few dozen skeletons in a cemetery
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-12789127/How-earth-Black-Death-prove-Britain-racist-14th-century-Thats-incendiary-claim-Museum-London-examined-just-dozen-skeletons-cemetery.html
From the Daily Mail: In a sick attempt to legitimise their Final Solution, Nazi 'doctors' in the 1930s and 40s would measure human skulls to try to prove the biological difference between Jews and non-Jews.
There was no scientific foundation for this revolting behaviour. How strange then that, almost a century on, self-professed 'anti-racist' academics are using methods that appear so similar.
This week, bizarre new research by the Museum of London sparked mockery and confusion after it concluded that black women were the group worst affected by the Black Death in 14th-century London.
It stated that their apparently inflated chances of death from plague were the result of the 'devastating effects' of 'pre-modern structural racism'.
2023: Black women of African descent were more likely to die of the medieval plague in London, academics at the Museum of London have found.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67472933
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/unearthing-inequality-black-women-were-more-likely-to-die-during-londons-great-plagues-67556
The research looked at data on bone and dental changes, is based on 145 individuals from three cemeteries, and found significantly higher proportions of people of colour and Londoners of Black African descent in plague burials compared to non-plague burials. The research also found that black women of African descent were significantly more likely to die from the plague than the men were.
The likelihood of dying from the Great Pestilence was highest amongst those who already faced significant hardship, including exposure to serious famine events that hit England during this time. The research concluded that higher death rates amongst people of colour and those of Black African descent was a result of the "devastating effects" of "premodern structural racism" in the medieval world. Social and religious divisions based on origin, skin colour and appearance were present in both medieval England and Europe.
Commenting on the research, Dr Rebecca Redfern, Senior Curator of Archaeology at Museum of London, said: "We have no primary written sources from people of colour and those of Black African descent during the Great Pestilence of the 14th century, so archaeological research is essential to understanding more about their lives and experiences. As with the recent Covid-19 pandemic, social and economic environment played a significant role in people's health and this is most likely why we find more people of colour and those of Black African descent in plague burials."
Rebecca (Jewish?) Has Been Pushing This Anti-White Tripe For Years
2015: DNA study finds London was ethnically diverse from start
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34809804
Excerpt: London was a cosmopolitan city from the moment it was created following the Roman invasion 2,000 years ago.
"The thing to remember with the original Londoners is that they were not born here. Every first-generation Londoner was from somewhere else - whether it was somewhere else in Britain, somewhere else on the continent, somewhere else in the Mediterranean, somewhere else from Africa," she said.
"So the stories we can tell about our ancient population are absolutely relevant to modern contemporary London because these are our stories - these are people just like us."
Archaeologists build up a picture of individuals from the belongings they are buried with. But "The Mansell Street man" was found with nothing. According to Dr Rebecca Redfern, another Museum of London curator, until the emergence of new ancient DNA and chemical analysis techniques, these were the people who had slipped through the cracks of history.
"Most of the human remains in our collection don't have any coffin plates or any sort of biographical information, so by doing these types of studies we are able to show where people came from and learn more about them as a person, about aspects of their physical appearance, and so we can really give people back their voices," she said.
The analysis showed that Mansell Street man was over 45 years old with very dark brown hair and brown eyes. His mitochondrial DNA line was from North Africa and his remains show African traits as well.
However, the chemical make-up of his teeth shows he grew up in London. His skeleton indicates that he had a form of bone disease that today is associated with diabetes caused by a protein-rich diet. That has come as a huge surprise to researchers because in modern populations this is a disease that mostly afflicts white males from the West. So the discovery will be of great interest to medical researchers.
Conclusion: It's Just Another Case of Anti-Whiteness
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-12789127/How-earth-Black-Death-prove-Britain-racist-14th-century-Thats-incendiary-claim-Museum-London-examined-just-dozen-skeletons-cemetery.html
Conclusion from the Daily Mail: Records contain the names of 65,000 immigrants resident in England between 1330 and 1550. In the year 1440, the names of 14,500 foreigners were recorded, among a general population of approximately two million.
The overwhelming majority of these immigrants, however, were simply from other parts of the British Isles, including Scotland, Ireland and the Channel Islands. Others hailed from European nations such as Portugal, Sweden, Greece and Iceland.
There were certainly people of African descent living here — often referred to in historic records under the catch-all terms of 'blackamoor' or 'Ethiopian'.
One black man, known as Bartholomew, lived in Nottingham in the 13th century, and is mentioned in the 'Pipe Roll' of 1259, a financial record kept by the Exchequer. But it's challenging, if not impossible, to pinpoint an exact number of black people living in London, as such records barely exist. ... There is little other evidence available.
Given such tiny numbers and insignificant records, the burden of proof that these researchers must show to justify what appears to be their theory of racism is extremely high. The truth is that the actual numbers of black people living in London during the 14th century was likely to be vanishingly small.
Whatever the truth, claims about the ancestry of the plague victims were made by examining the skull features and bones that made up the faces and by comparing them to modern populations.
But as David Abulafia, Professor of Mediterranean History at the University of Cambridge, explains, 'all sorts of factors' impact bone development, including diet and puberty. Ethnic origin is thereby difficult to determine. What's more, previous research into plague victims has shown that comparing bone structures of our medieval forebears to our own is redundant, as modern faces are significantly different.
Dr Peter Rock, who led research into the way the shape of the human skull has changed over the centuries, has described the differences between modern and medieval features as 'striking'.
Only this year, there was embarrasment when the BBC had to remove a plaque in East Sussex that claimed an ancient skeleton known as 'Beachy Head Lady', dating from the Roman period, was the first known person of sub-Saharan origin in Britain. This conclusion was reached by scientists who — you guessed it — had measured her skull.
DNA analysis would soon establish that the woman was far more likely to be of Southern European origin, possibly Cyprus.
This did not stop the Museum of London researchers from using comparable methods, concluding that the apparently inflated death rate among black people during the plague was the result of 'devastating structural racism'.
Video from https://www.youtube.com/@Survivethejive
How on earth can the Black Death prove Britain was racist in the 14th century? That's the incendiary claim from the Museum of London after it examined just a few dozen skeletons in a cemetery
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-12789127/How-earth-Black-Death-prove-Britain-racist-14th-century-Thats-incendiary-claim-Museum-London-examined-just-dozen-skeletons-cemetery.html
From the Daily Mail: In a sick attempt to legitimise their Final Solution, Nazi 'doctors' in the 1930s and 40s would measure human skulls to try to prove the biological difference between Jews and non-Jews.
There was no scientific foundation for this revolting behaviour. How strange then that, almost a century on, self-professed 'anti-racist' academics are using methods that appear so similar.
This week, bizarre new research by the Museum of London sparked mockery and confusion after it concluded that black women were the group worst affected by the Black Death in 14th-century London.
It stated that their apparently inflated chances of death from plague were the result of the 'devastating effects' of 'pre-modern structural racism'.
2023: Black women of African descent were more likely to die of the medieval plague in London, academics at the Museum of London have found.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67472933
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/unearthing-inequality-black-women-were-more-likely-to-die-during-londons-great-plagues-67556
The research looked at data on bone and dental changes, is based on 145 individuals from three cemeteries, and found significantly higher proportions of people of colour and Londoners of Black African descent in plague burials compared to non-plague burials. The research also found that black women of African descent were significantly more likely to die from the plague than the men were.
The likelihood of dying from the Great Pestilence was highest amongst those who already faced significant hardship, including exposure to serious famine events that hit England during this time. The research concluded that higher death rates amongst people of colour and those of Black African descent was a result of the "devastating effects" of "premodern structural racism" in the medieval world. Social and religious divisions based on origin, skin colour and appearance were present in both medieval England and Europe.
Commenting on the research, Dr Rebecca Redfern, Senior Curator of Archaeology at Museum of London, said: "We have no primary written sources from people of colour and those of Black African descent during the Great Pestilence of the 14th century, so archaeological research is essential to understanding more about their lives and experiences. As with the recent Covid-19 pandemic, social and economic environment played a significant role in people's health and this is most likely why we find more people of colour and those of Black African descent in plague burials."
Rebecca (Jewish?) Has Been Pushing This Anti-White Tripe For Years
2015: DNA study finds London was ethnically diverse from start
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34809804
Excerpt: London was a cosmopolitan city from the moment it was created following the Roman invasion 2,000 years ago.
"The thing to remember with the original Londoners is that they were not born here. Every first-generation Londoner was from somewhere else - whether it was somewhere else in Britain, somewhere else on the continent, somewhere else in the Mediterranean, somewhere else from Africa," she said.
"So the stories we can tell about our ancient population are absolutely relevant to modern contemporary London because these are our stories - these are people just like us."
Archaeologists build up a picture of individuals from the belongings they are buried with. But "The Mansell Street man" was found with nothing. According to Dr Rebecca Redfern, another Museum of London curator, until the emergence of new ancient DNA and chemical analysis techniques, these were the people who had slipped through the cracks of history.
"Most of the human remains in our collection don't have any coffin plates or any sort of biographical information, so by doing these types of studies we are able to show where people came from and learn more about them as a person, about aspects of their physical appearance, and so we can really give people back their voices," she said.
The analysis showed that Mansell Street man was over 45 years old with very dark brown hair and brown eyes. His mitochondrial DNA line was from North Africa and his remains show African traits as well.
However, the chemical make-up of his teeth shows he grew up in London. His skeleton indicates that he had a form of bone disease that today is associated with diabetes caused by a protein-rich diet. That has come as a huge surprise to researchers because in modern populations this is a disease that mostly afflicts white males from the West. So the discovery will be of great interest to medical researchers.
Conclusion: It's Just Another Case of Anti-Whiteness
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-12789127/How-earth-Black-Death-prove-Britain-racist-14th-century-Thats-incendiary-claim-Museum-London-examined-just-dozen-skeletons-cemetery.html
Conclusion from the Daily Mail: Records contain the names of 65,000 immigrants resident in England between 1330 and 1550. In the year 1440, the names of 14,500 foreigners were recorded, among a general population of approximately two million.
The overwhelming majority of these immigrants, however, were simply from other parts of the British Isles, including Scotland, Ireland and the Channel Islands. Others hailed from European nations such as Portugal, Sweden, Greece and Iceland.
There were certainly people of African descent living here — often referred to in historic records under the catch-all terms of 'blackamoor' or 'Ethiopian'.
One black man, known as Bartholomew, lived in Nottingham in the 13th century, and is mentioned in the 'Pipe Roll' of 1259, a financial record kept by the Exchequer. But it's challenging, if not impossible, to pinpoint an exact number of black people living in London, as such records barely exist. ... There is little other evidence available.
Given such tiny numbers and insignificant records, the burden of proof that these researchers must show to justify what appears to be their theory of racism is extremely high. The truth is that the actual numbers of black people living in London during the 14th century was likely to be vanishingly small.
Whatever the truth, claims about the ancestry of the plague victims were made by examining the skull features and bones that made up the faces and by comparing them to modern populations.
But as David Abulafia, Professor of Mediterranean History at the University of Cambridge, explains, 'all sorts of factors' impact bone development, including diet and puberty. Ethnic origin is thereby difficult to determine. What's more, previous research into plague victims has shown that comparing bone structures of our medieval forebears to our own is redundant, as modern faces are significantly different.
Dr Peter Rock, who led research into the way the shape of the human skull has changed over the centuries, has described the differences between modern and medieval features as 'striking'.
Only this year, there was embarrasment when the BBC had to remove a plaque in East Sussex that claimed an ancient skeleton known as 'Beachy Head Lady', dating from the Roman period, was the first known person of sub-Saharan origin in Britain. This conclusion was reached by scientists who — you guessed it — had measured her skull.
DNA analysis would soon establish that the woman was far more likely to be of Southern European origin, possibly Cyprus.
This did not stop the Museum of London researchers from using comparable methods, concluding that the apparently inflated death rate among black people during the plague was the result of 'devastating structural racism'.
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