Dido Elizabeth Belle (June 1761 – July 1804) was a British heiress and a member of the

Lindsay family of Evelix Lindsay may refer to: People *Clan Lindsay, a Scottish family clan *Lindsay (name), an English surname and given name, derived from the Scottish clan name; variants include Lindsey, Lyndsay, Linsay, Linsey, Lyndsey, Lyndsy, Lynsay, Lynsey Places ...

. She was born into slavery and illegitimate; her mother, Maria Belle, was an enslaved African woman in the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grena ...

. Her father was

Sir John Lindsay Rear Admiral Sir John Lindsay, (1737 – 4 June 1788) was a British naval officer of the 18th century, who achieved the rank of admiral late in his career. Joining the Navy during the Seven Years' War, he served off France, followed by service ...

, a British career naval officer who was stationed there. Her father was knighted and promoted to admiral. Lindsay took Belle with him when he returned to England in 1765, entrusting her upbringing to his uncle

William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC, SL (2 March 170520 March 1793) was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland, before moving to Lond ...

, and his wife Elizabeth Murray, Countess of Mansfield. The Murrays educated Belle, bringing her up as a free

gentlewoman A gentlewoman (from the Latin ''gentilis'', belonging to a ''gens'', and English 'woman') in the original and strict sense is a woman of good family, analogous to the Latin ''generosus'' and ''generosa''. The closely related English word "gentry" ...

at their

Kenwood House Kenwood House (also known as the Iveagh Bequest) is a former stately home in Hampstead, London, on the northern boundary of Hampstead Heath. The house was originally constructed in the 17th century and served as a residence for the Earls of Mans ...

, together with another great-niece,

Lady Elizabeth Murray Lady Elizabeth Mary Finch-Hatton (née Lady Elizabeth Mary Murray; 18 May 1760 – 1 June 1825) was a British aristocrat and the subject of a notable painting, once thought to be by Johann Zoffany, now attributed to David Martin. Biography ...

, whose mother had died. Lady Elizabeth and Belle were second cousins. Belle lived there for 30 years. In his will of 1793, Lord Mansfield provided an outright sum and an annuity to her, making her an heiress.

Early life

Dido Elizabeth Belle was born into slavery in 1761 in the

to an enslaved African woman known as Maria Belle. (Her name was spelled as Maria Bell in her daughter's baptism record.) Her father was 24-year-old

, a member of the

branch of the

Clan Lindsay Clan Lindsay is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands. History Origins of the clan The Lindsays were prominent in both England and Scotland from the late 11th century. The name most likely derives from the region of Lindsey in England (the ...

and a descendant of the

Clan Murray Clan Murray () is a Highland Scottish clan. The chief of the Clan Murray holds the title of Duke of Atholl. Their ancestors were the Morays of Bothwell who established the family in Scotland in the 12th century. In the 16th century, descendants ...

, who was a career naval officer and then captain of the British warship HMS ''Trent'', based in the West Indies. He was the son of

Sir Alexander Lindsay, 3rd Baronet Sir Alexander Lindsay of Evelick, 3rd Baronet (11 May 1683, Dunfermline – 6 May 1762, Evelix) was a Scottish baronet from the Lindsay of Evelick family. He married into Clan Murray by his marriage with Amelia Murray, daughter of David Murray, ...

and his wife Amelia, daughter of

David Murray, 5th Viscount Stormont David Murray, 5th Viscount of Stormont (1665 – 19 November 1731) was a Scottish peer. He was the son of David Murray, 4th Viscount Stormont (died 1668), and Jean Carnegie, daughter of James Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Southesk and Lady Mary Kerr. H ...

. Lindsay is thought to have found Maria Belle held as a slave on a Spanish ship which his forces captured in the Caribbean. Lindsay returned to London after the war in 1765 with his young daughter, Dido Belle. When they arrived in England he took her to Kenwood House just outside the city, the home of his uncle,

, and his wife Elizabeth Murray, Countess of Mansfield. Belle was baptised as Dido Elizabeth Belle in 1766 at St George's, Bloomsbury. The Murray family raised Belle as an educated woman along with their niece and Dido's cousin,

, whose mother had died. A contemporary obituary of Sir John Lindsay, who had eventually been promoted to admiral, acknowledged that he was the father of Dido Belle, and described her: " has died, we believe, without any legitimate issue but has left one natural daughter, a

Mulatta (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese i ...

who has been brought up in Lord Mansfield's family almost from her infancy and whose amiable disposition and accomplishments have gained her the highest respect from all his Lordship's relations and visitants." At one time, historians thought her mother was an African slave on a ship captured by Lindsay's warship during the

Siege of Havana The siege of Havana was a successful British siege against Spanish-ruled Havana that lasted from March to August 1762, as part of the Seven Years' War. After Spain abandoned its former policy of neutrality by signing the family compact with Fr ...

, but this specific date is unlikely, as Dido was born in 1761.

At Kenwood House

The Earl and Countess of Mansfield lived at

in Hampstead, just outside the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. Childless, they were already raising their motherless great-niece,

, born in 1760. It is possible that the Mansfields took Belle in to be Lady Elizabeth's playmate and, later in life, her personal attendant. Her role within the family suggests that she became more that of a

lady's companion A lady's companion was a woman of genteel birth who lived with a woman of rank or wealth as retainer. The term was in use in the United Kingdom from at least the 18th century to the mid-20th century but it is now archaic. The profession is known ...

than a lady's maid. At Kenwood House, "Belle was treated like the rest of the family when she was in company with only the family," says Mansfield. Dido Elizabeth Belle worked as an amanuensis for Lord Mansfield in his later years. Belle lived at Kenwood House for 31 years. Her position was unusual because she had been born into slavery according to colonial law. Lord and Lady Mansfield to some extent treated her and brought her up as a member of the Murray family. As she grew older, she often assisted Mansfield by taking dictation of his letters, which showed she had been educated. One of Mansfield's friends, American Thomas Hutchinson, a former governor of Massachusetts who as a Loyalist had moved to London, recalled in his personal diary that Belle "was called upon by my Lord every minute for this thing and that, and showed the greatest attention to everything he said". He described her as "neither handsome nor genteel – pert enough". He also talked about his first impressions of her at Lord Mansfield's house, saying "A Black came in after dinner and sat with the ladies, and after coffee, walked with the company in the gardens, one of the young ladies having her arm within the other. She had a very high cap, and her wool was much frizzled in her neck, but not enough to answer the large curls now in fashion. I knew her history before, but my Lord mentioned it again. Sir Lindsay, having taken her mother prisoner in a Spanish vessel, brought her to England, where she delivered of this girl, of which she was then with child, and which was taken care of by Lord M., and has been educated by his family. He calls her Dido, which I suppose is all the name she has. He knows he has been reproached for showing a fondness for her – I dare say not criminal". A brief reference to Belle occurs in volume II of James Beattie's Elements of Moral Science. Beattie refers to her intelligence, saying "But I happened, a few days after, to see his theory overturned, and my conjecture established by a negro girl about ten years old, who had been six years in England, and not only spoke with the articulation and accent of a native, but repeated some pieces of poetry, with a degree of elegance, which would have been admired in any English child of her years." Following this is a footnote which states, "She was in Lord Mansfield's family; and at his desire, and in his presence, repeated those pieces of poetry to me. She was called Dido, and I believe is still alive." This and the quotations from Thomas Hutchinson are some of the few direct references to Dido found in primary source material. Lord Mansfield ruled on a related matter of the status of slaves in England in his capacity as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. When called on in 1772 to judge

Somerset v Stewart ''Somerset v Stewart'' (177298 ER 499(also known as ''Somersett's case'', ''v. XX Sommersett v Steuart and the Mansfield Judgment)'' is a judgment of the English Court of King's Bench in 1772, relating to the right of an enslaved person on E ...

, the case of an escaped slave whose owner wanted to send him back to the West Indies for sale, he decreed: Mansfield's ruling that slavery did not exist in common law and had never been introduced by positive law was taken by

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

to mean that slavery was abolished in England. Mansfield later said his decision was intended only to apply to the slave at issue in the case. At the time, it was suggested that Mansfield's personal experience with raising Dido Belle influenced his decision. Thomas Hutchinson later recalled a comment by a slave-owner: "A few years ago there was a cause before his Lordship brought by a Black for recovery of his liberty. A Jamaica planter, being asked what judgment his Lordship would give nswered'No doubt... he will be set free, for Lord Mansfield keeps a Black in his house which governs him and the whole family.'"Diu, Nisha Lilia
"Dido Belle: Britain’s first black aristocrat"
''The Telegraph'', 6 June 2014.

Social position

The notion of a mixed-race child born in this era to be raised as part of an aristocratic British family was virtually unheard of, and the social conventions of Mansfield's household are somewhat unclear. A 2007 exhibit at Kenwood suggests that Dido’s African origins may have played a part in the disparity, yet it was also usual to treat illegitimate children as lesser family, therefore she wasn't permitted to dine in with guests, as was reported by Thomas Hutchinson. He said Belle joined the ladies afterwards for coffee in the

drawing-room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...

. In 2014, author

Paula Byrne Paula Jayne Byrne, Lady Bate, (born 2 August 1967), is a British biographer, novelist, and literary critic. Life Byrne has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Liverpool, where she also studied for her MA, having completed a BA ...

wrote that Belle's exclusion from this particular dinner was pragmatic rather than the custom. She notes that other aspects of Belle's life, such as being given expensive medical treatments and luxurious bedroom furnishings, were evidence of her position as Lady Elizabeth's equal at Kenwood. As Belle grew older, she took on the responsibility of managing the dairy and poultry yards at Kenwood. This was a typical occupation for ladies of the

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

, but helping her uncle with his correspondence was less usual. This was normally done by a male secretary or a clerk. Belle was given an annual allowance of £30 10 s. By contrast, Lady Elizabeth received around £100, but she was a beneficiary in her own right through her mother's family. Belle, quite apart from her race, was illegitimate, in a time and place when great social stigma usually accompanied such status. For comparision: The annual wage of a female domestic worker holding the position of a housekeeper in a high-status household ranged from £20 to £70 at that time, while a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

would draw about £100 a year. About £200 purchased a 3-bedroom house with garden outside the city of London.

Later life

Belle's father died in 1788 without legitimate heirs, bequeathing £1000 to be shared by his "reputed children", John and Elizabeth Lindsay (as noted in his will). Historian Gene Adams believed this suggested that Lindsay referred to his daughter as Elizabeth, and she may have been named Dido by his uncle and aunt after they took charge of her. Another source says that there was another natural daughter, known as Elizabeth Palmer (born c. 1765), who lived in Scotland. Belle's legal status while Lord Mansfield was alive is uncertain. In his will written in 1783, published in 1793, Lord Mansfield officially confirmed or conferred Belle's freedom. To secure her future after his death, he bequeathed to her £500 as an outright sum and a £100

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, ...

. In 1799, Belle also inherited £100 from Lady Margery Murray, one of two female relatives who had come to live with and help care for the Murrays in their later years. However, William Murray left his niece Elizabeth Murray £10,000. Her father was in line to inherit his uncle's title and entire wealth. After Lord Mansfield's death in March 1793, Belle married Jean Louis Charles Davinière (anglicized to John Davinier) on 5 December 1793 at St George's, Hanover Square. Belle's husband was a Frenchman from

Ducey Ducey () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Ducey-Les Chéris. It is noted for its old bridge dating from 1613, which allowed pilgrims to cross the Sélu ...

in the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. His date of birth is unknown, but he was baptised on 16 November 1768; assuming this happened shortly after birth, he was seven years younger than his wife. He had left France for England towards the end of the 1780s and found work as servant or

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "valet ...

with John ('Fish') Craufurd. They were both then residents of the parish. The Daviniers had at least three sons: twins Charles and John, both baptised at St George's on 8 May 1795; and William Thomas, baptised there on 26 January 1802. Belle died in 1805 at the age of 43, and was interred in July of that year at St George's Fields, Westminster, a burial ground close to what is now

Bayswater Road Bayswater Road is the main road running along the northern edge of Hyde Park in London. Originally part of the A40 road, it is now designated part of the A402 road. Route In the east, Bayswater Road originates at Marble Arch roadway at ...

. In the 1970s, the site was redeveloped and her grave was moved. Her husband later remarried and had two more children with his second wife.

Descendants

Two of Belle's sons, William Thomas and Charles, were employed by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

; William in England and Charles in India. Presumably, both of them had enjoyed a good private school education in their childhood, with tuition in English, Greek, Latin, French, accounting, land surveying, mathematics and drawing. Charles Davinière joined the army in 1811 and initially served as

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

with the Madras Army (one of the territorial armies of the

(HEIC), preceding the British Indian Army). He was assigned to the 15th Madras Native Infantry (MNI) and later to the 30th MNI (that was formed from the 2nd Battailon, 15th MNI, in 1824). He was promoted to lieutenant in 1817 and captain in 1827. In August 1837, he was "to have charge of Infantry recruits" in the headquarters at

Fort St. George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

. Becoming major in 1841, Davinière retired on health grounds in 1845 or 1847, still serving then with the 30th MNI. Nonetheless, he was promoted one more time, to lieutenant colonel of the Madras Infantry, in 1855. The reason seems unclear; possibly he was reactivated for an unknown number of years. Charles Davinière had married Hannah Nash, youngest daughter of J. Nash, Esquire of Kensington, at Kensington Church in August 1836. After his (final) retirement, Charles lived with his wife, children, and servants at Lansdowne Villas in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road Ma ...

, where he died on 24 January 1873. William Thomas Davinière married a widow, Fanny Graham, and had a daughter, Emily. Emily died unmarried in 1870, several years after the death of her parents. Belle's last known descendant, her great-great-grandson Harold Davinier, died childless in South Africa in 1975.

Representation in media

18th-century portrait painting

The family commissioned a painting of Dido and Elizabeth. Completed in 1779, it was formerly attributed to Johann Zoffany''Slavery and Justice Exhibition at Kenwood House''
Historic England. Retrieved 12 June 2015. but, following research by the BBC TV programme ''

Fake or Fortune? ''Fake or Fortune?'' is a BBC One documentary television series which examines the provenance and attribution of notable artworks. Since the first series aired in 2011, ''Fake or Fortune?'' has drawn audiences of up to 5 million viewers in t ...

'', it has now been verified by the

Scottish National Gallery The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...

as a painting in the Zoffany style by the Scottish portraitist David Martin. It is "unique in British art of the 18th century in depicting a black woman and a white woman as near equals". It shows Dido alongside and slightly behind her cousin Elizabeth, carrying exotic fruit and wearing a turban with a large ostrich feather."The Girl in the Picture"
''Inside Out: Abolition of the British Slave Trade special'',

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, 2 March 2007. The painting is owned by the present Earl of Mansfield and housed at

Scone Palace Scone Palace is a Category A-listed historic house near the village of Scone and the city of Perth, Scotland. Built in red sandstone with a castellated roof, it is an example of the Gothic Revival style in Scotland. Scone was originally the s ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Scotland. In 2007, it was exhibited in Kenwood House, together with more information about Belle, during an exhibition marking the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807.

Film, music, plays

*''Dido Belle'' (2006), a film by Jason Young, was written as a short period drama titled ''Kenwood House''. It was workshopped at Battersea Arts Centre on 21 June 2006 as part of the Battersea Writers' Group script development programme. * Shirley J. Thompson's operatic trilogy, ''Spirit Songs'' – including ''Spirit of the Middle Passage'' about Dido Elizabeth Belle, with

Abigail Kelly Abigail Kelly is an English soprano opera and concert singer. Early life and education Kelly was raised in Birmingham, England. She had an interest in the performing arts from a very young age, and cites her experiences at a dance school in Bi ...

in the role – was performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, in March 2007 as part of the 200-year commemoration of the act abolishing the Atlantic slave trade. *''An African Cargo'' by Margaret Busby, a play staged by Black Theatre Co-operative (now

NitroBeat Nitrobeat is a British theatre company, founded in 1979 as the Black Theatre Co-operative by the playwright Mustapha Matura and the director Charlie Hanson. Early performers with the company included the actor Trevor Laird. The company's first ...

) featuring actor

Jeffery Kissoon Jeffery Kissoon (born 4 September 1947) is an actor with credits in British theatre, television, film and radio. He has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company at venues such as the Royal National Theatre, under directors including Peter ...

Greenwich Theatre Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London. Theatre first came to Greenwich at the beginning of the 19th century during the famous Eastertide Greenwich Fair at which the Ric ...

, 2007, in commemoration of the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, deals with a landmark 1783 trial presided over by Lord Mansfield at the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

, resulting from the ''Zong'' massacre. The character of Dido Belle expresses to the audience feelings of horror and injustice for the murder of the slaves on the ship. *''Let Justice Be Done'' by Suchitra Chatterjee and Maureen Hicks, a play put on by the Mixed Blessings Theatre Group was premiered at the 2008 Brighton Fringe and explored the influence that Dido Belle might have had on her great-uncle's Somersett Ruling of 1772. *'' Belle'' (2013), a feature film directed by

Amma Asante Amma Asante (born 13 September 1969) is a British filmmaker, screenwriter, former actress, and Chancellor at Norwich University of the Arts, who was born in London to parents from Ghana. Her love for the film industry started when she receive ...

, explores Dido's life as the multiracial natural daughter of an aristocrat in 18th-century England, who became an heiress but occupied an ambiguous social position. The film is based on the 1779 painting of Dido and her cousin Elizabeth. The film stars

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw (; born 21 April 1983) is a British actress who is known for her performances on stage and screen. In 2017 she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama ...

as Dido and

Tom Wilkinson Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...

as her guardian Lord Mansfield.
''Fern Meets Dido''
(2018), A musical written by Evadne Bygrave based on the book ''Fern and Kate Meet Dido Elizabeth Belle'' by David Gleave. The story of a modern-day young girl of mixed heritage, disaffected at school and uncertain about her identity. On a school trip to Kenwood House, something magical happens, and she goes back in time and meets Dido. *''I, Dido'' (2018), a three-handed play by Non Vaughan-O'Hagan was commissioned by St George's Bloomsbury where Dido was baptised. The play explores the relationship between Dido, Lord Mansfield and Lady Betty. Act I takes place on the night of 6 June 1780 when the Mansfields' home in Bloomsbury Square was destroyed in the Gordon Riots . Act II takes place in Kenwood House six years later, after the death of Lady Betty. The play has also been adapted as a short film of the same name, directed by Penelope Shales-Slyne.

Novels

* ''Family Likeness'', a 2013 novel by Caitlin Davies, was inspired in part by the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle. * Author

was commissioned to write ''Belle: The True Story of Dido Belle'' (2014) as a tie-in to the 2013 film ''Belle''. It was published in paperback and as an audiobook when the movie opened in the United States. *

Zadie Smith Zadie Smith FRSL (born Sadie; 25 October 1975) is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, ''White Teeth'' (2000), immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. She has been a tenured professor ...

mentions the story of Belle in her 2016 novel ''

Swing Time In music, the term ''swing'' has two main uses. Colloquially, it is used to describe the propulsive quality or "feel" of a rhythm, especially when the music prompts a visceral response such as foot-tapping or head-nodding (see pulse). This sens ...

'' when the narrator goes to Kenwood House and overhears a tour guide talking about her. * The short-story collection ''The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits'', by

Emma Donoghue Emma Donoghue (born 24 October 1969) is an Irish-Canadian playwright, literary historian, novelist, and screenwriter. Her 2010 novel ''Room'' was a finalist for the Booker Prize and an international best-seller. Donoghue's 1995 novel '' Hood'' ...

, contains a short story called "Dido", about Dido Elizabeth Belle. * Dido Elizabeth Belle features as one of the two central characters in ''The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Drama and Danger'' by children's author J.T. Williams, published in 2022. This is the first of series of historical novels set in eighteenth century London, anchored around the imagined friendship of Dido Belle with Elizabeth "Lizzie" Sancho, daughter of

Ignatius Sancho Charles Ignatius Sancho ( – 14 December 1780) was a British abolitionist, writer and composer. Born on a slave ship in the Atlantic, Sancho was sold into slavery in the Spanish colony of New Granada. After his parents died, Sancho's owner t ...

References

External links

''Slavery And Justice: Lord Mansfield And Dido Belle At Kenwood''
Untold London, 2007
''Slavery and Justice exhibition at Kenwood House''
on Mansfield and Dido. * Historic England leaflet, ''Slavery and Justice: the legacies of Dido Belle and Lord Mansfield''
Part 1Part 2
* Paula Byrne
''Belle: The True Story of Dido Belle''
Harper Collins, 2014.
"Inside Out: Abolition of the British Slave Trade special"
BBC London, 24 September 2014
Article on discovering Dido
in ''Hampstead Matters,'' February 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Belle, Dido Elizabeth 1761 births 1804 deaths Black British former slaves Black British history British socialites Clan Murray British Anglicans Black British women English people of Scottish descent English people of West Indian descent Lindsay family of Evelix People of the British West Indies 18th-century English women 19th-century English women 18th-century slaves