// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Reasonable Blackman a judge? Because he's a fair man.
 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed. (May 2026) |
Reasonable Blackman (fl. 1579–1592)[1][2] (also possibly known as John Reason, Reasonable Blakemore and Reasonable Blackmore)[3] was an independent silk weaver who lived in Southwark, London, in the late 16th century.[4][5][6] Based on his name, a number of sources since the 2010s have suggested he may have been among the earliest African people to live in Britain.[7]: 121 If he was of African origin, he may have come to London via the Netherlands,[4] which had a tiny African population at the time from Spanish and Portuguese colonies[7]: 120 and also a significant trade in silk.[5]
Blackman's life is only known from a handful of mentions in administrative documents. The first record of Reasonable is dated to 1579 in the Parish records of St Saviour's church (later Southwark Cathedral), looking for a reservation for the Easter Sunday service. Historian Miranda Kaufmann has argued that in these documents he is described specifically as a "blackmor" or "blackmore",[7] a popular term at the time used to denote people of a Sub Saharan African origin,[6] rather than merely having the surname "Blackman" or "Blackmore", which in the 16th century could not be confidently used to indicate African origin, as these surnames were used by local English people, with their usage deriving from having dark hair, an origin in the various settlements named Moore, More, Blackmore, Blackmoor (including the one in Hampshire and Somerset), and Blakemere, or even simply that they lived in the vicinity of a moor.[7] By 1587 Blackman was married and therefore clearly had sufficient means to support a family.[5] It has been suggested that he made costumes for the theatres in the area.[2][3]
He had at least three children,[4][5][6] of whom at least one, Edward,[5] was baptised at St Olave's Church, Southwark in February 1587.[3] A fourth child with a similar surname, John Blakemore, who was also baptised at St Olave's on 26 October 1579, may also have been his.[7]: 123 Two of his children, Edmund and Jane, died of bubonic plague in 1592.[3][4][5][6] They were buried with due ritual in St Olave's churchyard.[6][7]: 132
References
[edit]- ↑ Kaufmann, Miranda (2017). "The Men and Women in BLACK TUDORS: THE UNTOLD STORY". Miranda Kaufmann. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
- 1 2 Habib, Imtiaz (2015). "The Resonables of Boroughside, Southwark: an Elizabethan Black Family Near the Rose Theatre". Shakespeare. 11 (2): 135–156. doi:10.1080/17450918.2013.766633. S2CID 191181138.
- 1 2 3 4 Salkeld, Duncan (2018). Shakespeare and London. Oxford University Press. p. 146. ISBN 9780192559784. Archived from the original on 5 August 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 Bidisha (30 October 2017). "Tudor, English and black – and not a slave in sight". The Guardian. London, England. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The prosperous silk weaver". BBC History Magazine. 9 November 2017. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "London's forgotten black Tudors, including a Southwark-based 16th century silk trader". Southwark News. Southwark, London, England. 23 November 2017. Archived from the original on 7 June 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kaufmann, Miranda (2017). Black Tudors: The Untold Story. UK: Oneworld. ISBN 978-1-78607-396-9.
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