author
Ignatius Sancho
1729–1780
Born in 1729 and remembered as a writer, composer, and outspoken opponent of slavery, he built an extraordinary life in 18th-century Britain. His letters, full of wit and feeling, made him one of the most distinctive Black voices of his time.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born around 1729, reportedly on a slave ship crossing the Atlantic, Ignatius Sancho was brought to Britain as a small child and spent his early years in servitude in Greenwich. He later came under the protection of the Montagu family, who encouraged his reading and education, helping to shape the lively, thoughtful voice that would make him known.
Sancho went on to work in several roles across London, including as a valet and later as a shopkeeper in Westminster. He also wrote music and became well connected in literary and artistic circles. Today he is especially celebrated for his letters, which reveal a warm, humorous, sharp-minded observer of everyday life and public affairs.
He was also an important early figure in the movement against slavery. His published correspondence helped bring moral force and personal insight to abolitionist arguments, and his life has come to symbolize both the hardships faced by Black Britons in the 18th century and the brilliance with which he answered them.