Ignatius Sancho (c. 1729-14 – 1780)
Ignatius Sancho was born on a ship engaged in the slave trade in 1729. His mother died soon after arriving in the Spanish West Indies. His father committed suicide rather than be a slave. His owner brought him to England in 1731 and gave him as a present to three maiden sisters living in Greenwich.
As a young man he met John Montagu, the 2nd Duke of Montagu, who took an interest in his education. In 1749 Sancho ran away and sought refuge with the Montagu family. The Duke of Montagu had recently died but his wife agreed to employ him as butler.
When the Duchess of Monagu died she left him a small legacy and this enabled him to open a grocery shop in Westminster. This brought him into contact with the politician Charles James Fox. He is the first known Afro-Briton to vote in a British election.
Self-educated, Sancho wrote poetry and a book about music. He was unable to find a publisher for his work but he did meet literary figures such as Samuel Johnson and Laurence Sterne. In 1878 his portrait was published by Thomas Gainsborough.
Ignatius Sancho died on 14th December, 1780. Two years later a friend arranged for his letters to appear in a book. Sancho was the first African writer to have his work published in England. The book sold extremely well and his widow received over £500 in royalties.
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