1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:03,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Minky. Listener discretion is advised. 3 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: One quick note before we begin. Today is the day 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: my book Anatomy a Love Story is finally available in 5 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: bookstores everywhere. I worked so hard on it. If you're 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: a fan of Noble Blood, I really think you're going 7 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: to like it. It's a story about grave robbers and 8 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: surgery in nineteen century Edinburgh. There is a slight nobility 9 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,520 Speaker 1: tied to it. It's basically an episode of Noble Blood, 10 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: except times longer made up and you have to read 11 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,520 Speaker 1: words on a page unless you get the audio book. 12 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: But it would mean the world to me if you're 13 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,479 Speaker 1: interested or you're a fan of this podcast, if you 14 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: went to your local indie bookstore and picked up a copy. 15 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: And as always, thank you so much for listening to 16 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 1: the show, and for your support on the Patreon and 17 00:00:55,480 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: everything you do to make the show happen. It was 18 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of 19 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: Great Britain and Ireland was holding court at Windsor Palace, 20 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: waiting to receive a very special guest, a young girl 21 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:22,040 Speaker 1: who was arriving by boat from the western coast of Africa. 22 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:26,399 Speaker 1: Victoria had been queen for thirteen years by this point, 23 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: and though she was only thirty one years old, she 24 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: was already mother to seven children, all seven of which 25 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: were born without anesthesia for the record. Chloroform would be 26 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: introduced for her eighth child's birth in eighteen fifty three, 27 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: and she would finally experience such a relief that she 28 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: would go on to have a ninth child. As a 29 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: young female monarch, a mother and wife, Victoria represented a 30 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: new era for the British Empire, an age that was 31 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: celebrated as civility Incarnate. Her reign began just a few 32 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: years after Parliament banned slavery throughout the Empire, a further 33 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: expansion of the law prohibiting the slave trade that they 34 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:15,239 Speaker 1: had passed a few decades earlier. Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, 35 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: was an outspoken opponent of slavery, and so the early 36 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: years of Queen Victoria's reign were an optimistic moment for 37 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: Great Britain, one of self satisfied idealism and notions of 38 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: their own enlightenment, especially when British citizens could compare themselves 39 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: to the Americans across the Atlantic. In America, eighteen fifty 40 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: was the year that Congress passed the Second Fugitive Slave Act, 41 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: a cruel and draconian law that allowed the seizure and 42 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: return of enslaved people even after they had arrived in 43 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: a free territory a northern state where slavery would be illegal. 44 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 1: This new law would allow some to capture anyone they 45 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: might suspect of being a runaway slave and bring them 46 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: in front of local officials, who were deputized to decide, 47 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: without a jury trial, the status of whether or not 48 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: that kidnapped person was or was not the property of 49 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: the white person who claimed them. Eighteen fifty was the 50 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:24,639 Speaker 1: year Harriet Beecher Stowe would begin writing her best selling 51 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, of which he would send a 52 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: copy to the Royal Palace, writing a letter to Prince 53 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: Albert raising his abolitionist sensibilities. Queen Victoria was such a 54 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: fan of Stow, and she found herself so emotionally affected 55 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: by her book that the Queen would eventually flout diplomatic 56 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 1: protocol in order to meet her. But the larger issues 57 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: of race in Victorian Britain were more complicated and nuanced 58 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: than it might appear from the incredibly belated and self 59 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: congratulatory progress made to free the people throughout the realm 60 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: whom they had enslaved in the first place. In eighteen 61 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: seventy seven, Victoria would become Empress of India. She would 62 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: be the face used to legitimize colonialism under the guise 63 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: of civility, the woman who would be known globally as 64 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: the Great White Queen. In the words of historian David 65 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: la Sauga in his book Black and British Are Forgotten History, 66 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:32,919 Speaker 1: Victoria was a quote cipher for British power. Colonialism was 67 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: framed as expanding the gift of quote unquote civilization and Christianity, 68 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: and by the middle of the eighteen hundreds, those in 69 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 1: power in Great Britain were eager to justify their own 70 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:50,040 Speaker 1: efforts to other nations around the world, but also to themselves. 71 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: To that end, success stories were needed, narratives that fueled 72 00:04:55,680 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: into their preconceived notions of their own virtue. We brings 73 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: us to Queen Victoria's special visitor at Windsor Castle November nine, 74 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:11,159 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty. It was a young girl seven or eight 75 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: years old, taking small steps in the large echoing hallway. 76 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: She was taught what to do when she reached the Queen, 77 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 1: which was to dip into a low curtsey. After she rose, 78 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 1: the young girl looked over her shoulder at the man 79 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: who had brought her here, a captain named Frederick E. Forbes. 80 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: The young girl was black. Captain Forbes had quote unquote 81 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,480 Speaker 1: rescued her from where she was enslaved in the palace 82 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: of the African Kingdom of Daomi and presented as a 83 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: gift to the English Captain. Forbes baptized her with the 84 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:53,840 Speaker 1: name Sarah Forbes Bonetta Forbes after himself, and Bonetta her 85 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: surname after the boat on which they sailed back to 86 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:04,480 Speaker 1: England together. During the voyage, Sarah learned English, astonishing Captain 87 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: Forbes and the crew with how intelligent she was. He 88 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: wrote to Queen Victoria to let her know about the 89 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: unexpected passenger joining them on the return trip, and to 90 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: his surprise, word came from Queen Victoria that she intended 91 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: to adopt and care for the girl to act as 92 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: her godmother. A November ninth Sarah Forbes Bonetta met her 93 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: royal godmother in person for the first time. Queen Victoria, 94 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: who famously stood only five feet tall, was probably about 95 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: the same size as her. Even still, we can't imagine 96 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: how terrified Sarah Banetta must have been. Here was a 97 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: girl whose life had been destroyed, whose family had been 98 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: murdered by a rival kingdom, who was captured and enslaved, 99 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: only to be handed off like dry goods to a stranger. 100 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:01,520 Speaker 1: Baptized in a new RelA jen forced to learn a 101 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: new language as quickly as she could so that she 102 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: could be presented to the most powerful woman in the 103 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: world for her approval. Sarah Bonetta, whom the Queen would 104 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: soon nickname Sally, would spend the rest of her life 105 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: as a fixture of royal courtly life. She would be 106 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:24,240 Speaker 1: a regular guest at palaces around England. She would attend 107 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: royal events and have her education fully funded. Her children 108 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: would also be god children of the Queen, and her 109 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: grandchildren would continue to benefit from Victoria financially for their 110 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: entire lives. That relationship, the story of the black, formerly 111 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: enslaved girl being effectively adopted by Queen Victoria, is why 112 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: Sarah Forbes Banetta is famous and why we know her 113 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:57,120 Speaker 1: story today. In her book Infamous Bodies author Samantha Pinto writes, quote, 114 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:01,160 Speaker 1: Bonetta's proximity to the sovereign gave her access to the 115 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: emerging mass media technologies that appended royalty, and also gave 116 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: her and us access to her image via the Royal Archive. 117 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: End quote. We have photos of Sarah Bonetta because she 118 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: had access to the famous photographers of the day. There 119 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 1: are newspaper articles about her that we can read, because 120 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: she was considered a curiosity, a Cinderella story to modern audiences. 121 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: Her photographs, in which Bonetta is wearing elaborate Victorian dress 122 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:36,319 Speaker 1: are sometimes paraded out under clickbait headlines akin to Wow, 123 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: You'll never believe who this woman's godmother was, akin to that, or, 124 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: in the case of BuzzFeed, exactly like that. As Samantha 125 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: Pinto writes, quote, these fashions and this era have been 126 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 1: so associated with whiteness that their encounter with Bonetta's flesh 127 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 1: pique's immediate contemporary interest. As if Bonetta's skin and the 128 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: fashion are so in hungry with in their proximity that 129 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: the image demands explanation and explication end quote. It reminds 130 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,079 Speaker 1: me a little bit of an episode of Doctor Who, 131 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 1: in which The Doctor played by Peter Capaldi, at this 132 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,680 Speaker 1: point visits regency era England to see the freezing of 133 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: the Thames. His new companion Bill remarks that the London 134 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: population is quote a bit more black than they show 135 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: in the movies. The Doctor responds, so was Jesus. History 136 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:36,560 Speaker 1: is a whitewash. In recent years, there's been an effort 137 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 1: by the British public to draw more attention to Seravonetta's life. 138 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 1: The British Heritage commissioned a portrait of her by the 139 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:48,080 Speaker 1: artist Hannah Ozar, one of a series of quote previously 140 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: overlooked black figures from British history. But Sarah's fame is 141 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 1: a complicated paradox. In a way, the very reason Sarah 142 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:00,400 Speaker 1: is famous, and the reason we have information and about 143 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: her life is because of her forced participation in a 144 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:09,280 Speaker 1: power structure that absorbed her individual agency. We know almost 145 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:13,679 Speaker 1: nothing about who she actually was as a person. Samantha 146 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: Pinto continued to write, quote, Vanetta is a uniquely blank 147 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 1: canvas of black agency, as she doesn't offer any significant 148 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:27,200 Speaker 1: text or performance. Instead, she persists almost entirely through the 149 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,199 Speaker 1: images of her card to visit a photographs as well 150 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: as in some letters, histories and news report where it 151 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:37,640 Speaker 1: is her unlikely proximity to British Royalty that marks her 152 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 1: as of public interest end quote. All we can do 153 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: now is squint and look at the photographs of the 154 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: beautiful girl in the giant Victorian dress, and remember that 155 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,959 Speaker 1: before she was a symbol, she was a real person. 156 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 1: I'm Danish Wartz and this is noble blood. For about 157 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 1: three hundred years, beginning in the sixteen hundreds, Daomi was 158 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: an African kingdom that existed on the western coast of 159 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 1: Africa within present day Benin. Originally, Daomi was a tributary 160 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 1: kingdom to the Oyo Empire, which extended through present day Nigeria, 161 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:28,000 Speaker 1: but Daomi eventually became an independent and conquering power. Their 162 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 1: rise in power was thanks to a few factors. An 163 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 1: incredibly brutal expansionist approach to conquering neighboring kingdoms, a disciplined 164 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:42,320 Speaker 1: military which included an all female unit, and finally, and 165 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 1: perhaps most importantly, a willingness to engage with the Atlantic 166 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: slave trade. The Daomi Kingdom was one of the largest 167 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 1: suppliers of the Atlantic slave trade, selling prisoners of war 168 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 1: for money and advanced weaponry that allowed them to further 169 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: dominate surrounding kingdoms and continue the cycle all over again. 170 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:07,679 Speaker 1: Military discipline and brutality was also on display during an 171 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,920 Speaker 1: annual ritual called the Customs of Daomi, which began around 172 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:17,079 Speaker 1: seventeen thirty and involved parades, the exchanging of gifts and tributes, 173 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 1: and finally, the beheading of hundreds of prisoners of war 174 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,440 Speaker 1: as human sacrifices. The name for the ceremony in the 175 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:31,520 Speaker 1: Fond language Uenteno, translates to yearly head business. It was 176 00:12:31,559 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 1: meant to be a massive display of strength, a strength 177 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: that was only possible thanks to the arrival of Western 178 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:43,959 Speaker 1: European powers who wanted to purchase human beings and enslave them. 179 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:46,439 Speaker 1: The girl that would eventually come to be known as 180 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:50,640 Speaker 1: Sarah Forbes Vanetta was captured by Doaomi troops in eighteen 181 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: forty eight during a slave hunt in which the soldiers 182 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:57,679 Speaker 1: burned her village, okay Odin in Yarhuba to the ground 183 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:02,319 Speaker 1: and murdered her siblings and parents. Prints Sarah was captured, 184 00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: but rather than being sold to Europeans, she was brought 185 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 1: to the Daomi palace to serve King Gezo. The reigning 186 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: monarch at the time. Historians speculate that Sarah might have 187 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,440 Speaker 1: been noble born because she was brought to the palace 188 00:13:16,559 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: instead of being sold or killed, but we don't know 189 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 1: for sure. However, by the time that she arrived in 190 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 1: England and her story became well known throughout Great Britain, 191 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:29,280 Speaker 1: she was mythologized to the point where people would refer 192 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: to her as an African princess or the daughter of 193 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: a chief. But we don't know that for sure. We 194 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: can only speculate, just like we don't know Sarah Forbes 195 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: Vanetta's real name, the name she was born with and 196 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: used for the first seven years of her life. Some 197 00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: historians speculate that her birth name was Aina or some 198 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 1: variation on it, sometimes spelled A I N A, because 199 00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: later that name appears on her marriage license. Her marriage 200 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:03,920 Speaker 1: certificate is the one piece of writing we have in 201 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 1: her own handwriting the words Ainah Sarah Forbes Bonetta. For 202 00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:14,880 Speaker 1: clarity's sake, I'll continue to refer to her as Sarah 203 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,479 Speaker 1: because that's the name by which she's most commonly referenced. 204 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:22,160 Speaker 1: A few years after Sarah was taken by the Daomi 205 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: soldiers to King Gezo's palace, a British captain arrived in Daomi. 206 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: Captain Frederick E. Forbes was a naval captain of the 207 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:35,120 Speaker 1: West African Squadron or w A S, which was a 208 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: collection of ships patrolling the western coast of Africa with 209 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:44,000 Speaker 1: the goal of stopping the slave trade. England had abolished 210 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 1: the slave trade in eighteen o seven and then went 211 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:50,880 Speaker 1: on to abolish slavery in its colonies in eighteen thirty three, 212 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:55,160 Speaker 1: but the slave trade still continued from France and Spain, 213 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,920 Speaker 1: and of course the slave trade continued to the United States. 214 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: It actually be King Gezo's son, the next King of Diaomi, 215 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 1: who would go on to oversee the trade of the 216 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 1: last ever, by then a legal ship of enslaved African 217 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: people bound for America. According to Captain Forbes's account, King 218 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 1: Gezo was a uniquely harsh leader. Forbes referred to him 219 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: as an African nero. We also get a drawing from 220 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: the captain of what the king looked like. In the drawing, 221 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 1: King Gezo has a thin Gomez Adam style mustache. He 222 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:39,040 Speaker 1: wears a one shoulder robe in bright, astonishingly bright blue 223 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: that looks like a cross between a French king's robe 224 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 1: and a toga. His wide brimmed hat is edged with tassels. 225 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: Captain Forbes was part of the British movement to eliminate 226 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: the slave trade globally, which required negotiations with their neighboring 227 00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: European countries as well as making treaties with Africa nations. 228 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: The captain was in Daomi with the purpose of getting 229 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: the king to agree to no longer sell enslaved prisoners 230 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: and to instead begin to engage more heavily in palm 231 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,360 Speaker 1: oil trading. At this point, the selling of enslaved people 232 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: was King Gezo's kingdom's primary source of income, and so 233 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:24,360 Speaker 1: while he greeted Captain Forbes with respect, he denied his 234 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: request to eliminate the supply of slaves. It was already 235 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 1: the bedrock of his kingdom's economy. But even unsuccessful diplomatic 236 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 1: missions engage in the appropriate rituals of politeness, and so 237 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,800 Speaker 1: as gifts to Captain Forbes to pass along to his 238 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: sovereign Queen Victoria, King Gezo gifted quote a rich country cloth, 239 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 1: a captive girl, a kabusiers stool, ten heads of coweries, 240 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,640 Speaker 1: and one keg of rum. Did you catch that second 241 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: thing listed there. A small captive girl was given to 242 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: Captain Forbes so that he might pass her along to 243 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria as a gift. Forbes writes that, as abhorrent 244 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 1: as he believed slavery to be, he feared rejecting the 245 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:18,080 Speaker 1: gift because Daomi culture commonly involved ritual sacrifice. It's also 246 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 1: possible that he saw the young girl enslaved in the 247 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: palace and bargained for her so that he could quote 248 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:29,240 Speaker 1: unquote rescue her. Either way, the young girl accompanied Captain 249 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 1: Forbes back to his ship, the h M. S. Bonetta, 250 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,200 Speaker 1: and he christened her with the name that she would 251 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:39,400 Speaker 1: use for the rest of her life, Sarah Forbes Bonetta. 252 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: Almost immediately, young Sarah surprised the crew with how quickly 253 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:50,439 Speaker 1: she learned English. Forbes would later write, quote for her age, 254 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:54,400 Speaker 1: she is a perfect genius. She now speaks English well 255 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:57,400 Speaker 1: and has a great talent for music. She has won 256 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: the affections with but few exceptions of all who have 257 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,399 Speaker 1: known her by her docile and amiable conduct, which nothing 258 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: can exceed. But for all of his fairly condescending benevolence 259 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 1: towards his new ward there was also a slightly nefarious 260 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:18,119 Speaker 1: edge to Forbes's interest in her from the moment that 261 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:22,240 Speaker 1: Sarah joined the crew on the Vanetta, she was a specimen. 262 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,159 Speaker 1: With that in mind, the rest of Captain Forbes's quote 263 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:30,919 Speaker 1: continues quote, she is far in advance of any white 264 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:34,880 Speaker 1: child of her age in aptness of learning, and strength 265 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: of mind and affection, and with her being an excellent 266 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 1: specimen of the Negro race, might test the capability of 267 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:47,200 Speaker 1: the intellect of the Black it being generally and erroneously 268 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:51,040 Speaker 1: supposed that after a certain age the intellect becomes impaired 269 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 1: and the pursuit of knowledge impossible, that though the Negro 270 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,560 Speaker 1: child may be clever, the adult will be dull and stupid. 271 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:03,760 Speaker 1: Her head is considered so excellent a phrenological specimen, and 272 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:08,320 Speaker 1: illustrating such high intellect, that M. Pistrucci, the medalist to 273 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:13,480 Speaker 1: the Mint, has undertaken a bust of her. As Olasoga 274 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:18,680 Speaker 1: writes in Black and British Quote, Victoria ruled over an 275 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:22,720 Speaker 1: empire that, in the latter decades of the nineteenth century 276 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:28,199 Speaker 1: was increasingly influenced by racial thinking and new quote unquote 277 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:34,280 Speaker 1: scientific racial theories, and Victoria, like most Victorians thought in 278 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,119 Speaker 1: terms of racial types, and may well have believed to 279 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 1: some extent that the races of mankind possessed innate inner 280 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: characteristics end quote. Almost as soon as Sarah arrived in London, 281 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,679 Speaker 1: she was brought to Windsor Palace to meet the Queen, 282 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: her new godmother, who remarked that the girl spoke perfect 283 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 1: English and was quote dressed as any other the girl, 284 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 1: presumably meaning Victorian dress. As the girl's godmother, Queen Victoria 285 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 1: was determined to arrange for Sarah's education. For the next 286 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,560 Speaker 1: few months, Sarah was educated and cared for by a 287 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: woman named Mrs Phipps, who would periodically bring the girl 288 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: to see Queen Victoria. In one of the Queen's diary entries, 289 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 1: she wrote, after luncheon, Sarah Bonita, the little African girl, 290 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:29,399 Speaker 1: came with Mrs Phipps and showed me some of her work. 291 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:32,280 Speaker 1: This is the fourth time I have seen the poor child, 292 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: who is really an intelligent thing. But the English climate 293 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:40,720 Speaker 1: didn't agree with Sarah, or at least that's what people 294 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:44,920 Speaker 1: believed when she became withdrawn and melancholy with a deep cough. 295 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: To get her to a more amiable climate, Sarah was 296 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:53,400 Speaker 1: sent to the church missionary Society School in Freetown, Sierra Leone, 297 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: a British colony. The British at the time viewed Sierra 298 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 1: Leone as a toe hold for bringing Aristianity into Africa. 299 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,119 Speaker 1: The hope was that the Africans educated at the missionary 300 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:11,400 Speaker 1: school would continue east, building missionary momentum and eventually helping 301 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:15,640 Speaker 1: the anti slave trade movement. Many of the other students 302 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,359 Speaker 1: at the school were liberated from intercepted slave ships, or 303 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: they were the children of those who were rescued. While 304 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: Sarah was studying in Sierra Leone's favorable climate, Queen Victoria 305 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:32,360 Speaker 1: continued to send along books and little gifts, and allegedly 306 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,639 Speaker 1: it was Sarah's own unhappiness that prompted the Queen to 307 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: bring her back to England after four years abroad. Now 308 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:42,639 Speaker 1: twelve years old, Sarah was put under the care of 309 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:46,040 Speaker 1: two former missionaries who had served in Africa, Mr. And 310 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:49,920 Speaker 1: Mrs Shown, who lived in Kent. Sarah studied with them, 311 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: learning English and French, alongside their daughter Annie, who became 312 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,320 Speaker 1: a friend of hers. All the while her godmother kept 313 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 1: an active presence in her life. A any Shown wrote 314 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria gave constant proofs of her kindly interest in Sarah. 315 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,359 Speaker 1: At the Midsummer and Christmas seasons, she often went either 316 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:12,359 Speaker 1: to Windsor or Osborne to stay in the family of 317 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,480 Speaker 1: one of the officers of her Majesty's household, and was 318 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:18,680 Speaker 1: frequently sent for by the Queen to see her privately. 319 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:24,719 Speaker 1: But being in the royal orbit with its privileges, also 320 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:29,399 Speaker 1: has its costs, the sacrifices that people, but especially women, 321 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 1: were forced to make to exist in high society. In 322 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:39,200 Speaker 1: January eighteen sixty two, the Queen's daughter, Princess Alice fulfilled 323 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,360 Speaker 1: her duty of marrying one of the royal princes of Europe, 324 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,400 Speaker 1: Louis of Hesse, who was scoped out for her by 325 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: her older sister, The Queen's eldest daughter, Victoria. Sarah Bonetta 326 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:54,200 Speaker 1: attended the royal wedding, and later that year the Queen 327 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 1: would compel Sarah to get married herself. Sarah was taken 328 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:01,360 Speaker 1: away from the Shawns, not by her own choice, and 329 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: forced to move to a miserable house in Brighton with 330 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:09,080 Speaker 1: two elderly ladies, with the stated purpose of them preparing 331 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: Sarah to enter British high society. It was while Sarah 332 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 1: was living in Brighton miserable and far from the people 333 00:23:18,359 --> 00:23:21,359 Speaker 1: who loved her. That she received a proposal by a 334 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:25,959 Speaker 1: man named James Pinson Lubulo Davies, who was a relatively 335 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:30,160 Speaker 1: wealthy Eurobo businessman thirty one years old living in Britain. 336 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,440 Speaker 1: James Davies was the son of parents who had been 337 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:37,120 Speaker 1: freed by the British from a slave ship, and like Sarah, 338 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:42,119 Speaker 1: he had been educated at the missionary school in Sierra Leone. Sarah, 339 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 1: eighteen years old, had very little interest in marrying him. 340 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:51,000 Speaker 1: In a letter to her former guardian, Mrs Shown, Sarah wrote, quote, 341 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,240 Speaker 1: others would say he is a good man, and though 342 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: you don't care about him now, will soon learn to 343 00:23:56,880 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: love him. That I believe I never or could do. 344 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,520 Speaker 1: I know that the generality of people would say, he 345 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,360 Speaker 1: is rich, and you're marrying him, would at once make 346 00:24:06,359 --> 00:24:09,439 Speaker 1: you independent? And I say, am I to barter my 347 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:14,679 Speaker 1: peace of mind for money? No? Never. But Queen Victoria 348 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:19,840 Speaker 1: had made up her mind. She thought it was a wonderful, convenient, 349 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 1: and altogether prudent match, and so Queen Victoria granted her 350 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:29,040 Speaker 1: permission for the marriage, which meant that in effect, she 351 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: issued an order. The wedding itself was a spectacle which 352 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:38,200 Speaker 1: began with a promenade of ten horse drawn carriages arriving 353 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,840 Speaker 1: at the St. Nicholas Church in Brighton. Sarah Bonetta had 354 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: sixteen bridesmaids, twelve of whom were white and four were black. 355 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,439 Speaker 1: I think the best way to describe what the event 356 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 1: was like is through the lens of how it was 357 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 1: reported at the time. This article, originally from the Brighton News, 358 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:01,000 Speaker 1: was published in the Daily News on August fo eighteen 359 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:06,440 Speaker 1: sixty two. The headline is interesting marriage in Brighton. I'm 360 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 1: quoting directly now quote this morning, a marriage is to 361 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:13,440 Speaker 1: be performed at the Parish Church, Brighton to unite a 362 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:17,600 Speaker 1: lady and gentleman of color whose previous history gives to 363 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:21,399 Speaker 1: the ceremony a peculiar interest, chiefly to those who have 364 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 1: been so long and so deeply interested in the African race, 365 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:29,400 Speaker 1: and who have watched the progress of civilization caused by 366 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:33,720 Speaker 1: the influence of Christianity on the Negro and the ceremony 367 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:36,320 Speaker 1: will also tell our brethren on the other side of 368 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:40,520 Speaker 1: the Atlantic that British ladies and gentlemen consider it a 369 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:43,919 Speaker 1: pleasure and a privilege to do honor those of the 370 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:47,840 Speaker 1: African race who have proved themselves capable of appreciating the 371 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 1: advantages of a liberal education. Several things I want to 372 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 1: point out about that framing, but first is that the 373 00:25:56,080 --> 00:26:00,880 Speaker 1: newspaper has not yet mentioned Sarah Bonetta's name. The reference 374 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,399 Speaker 1: to brethren across the Atlantic is of course a dig 375 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: at the United States. The newspaper article continues, quote, the 376 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:13,160 Speaker 1: lady supposed to be an African chieftain's daughter was presented 377 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: when about the age of five years to the late 378 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: Captain Frederick Forbes. The next paragraph features a long excerpt 379 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,960 Speaker 1: from a book that Forbes wrote about his experience in Daomi, 380 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:27,439 Speaker 1: in which he says that the girl he met was 381 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:31,920 Speaker 1: about eight years old the very next paragraph. It's also 382 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,720 Speaker 1: worth noting that this is a point where the mythology 383 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:38,520 Speaker 1: of Sarah being a chieftain's daughter is deeply embedded in 384 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:43,800 Speaker 1: the public consciousness. A few weeks after their marriage, the 385 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:48,480 Speaker 1: newlyweds had their portrait taken by Comis Sylvie, a photographer 386 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:52,240 Speaker 1: to the rich and famous. Sylvie, still in his twenties 387 00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:55,639 Speaker 1: at this time, had photographed almost the entirety of the 388 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 1: British royal family, with the exclusion of the Queen, Sarah 389 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 1: and Aimes getting their photograph taken was a clear status symbol. 390 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 1: Thanks to Sarah's royal benefactor, they had arrived in the 391 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:12,960 Speaker 1: upper echelon of British society. The two eventually moved to Lagos, 392 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:17,160 Speaker 1: where James worked with middling success as a shipping merchant, 393 00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:20,359 Speaker 1: and where Sarah would give birth to her first child, 394 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 1: a daughter, whom she named Victoria, with the Queen's permission. 395 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:28,879 Speaker 1: Of course, the Queen was the baby Victoria's godmother as well, 396 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 1: and as a gift she sent the infant a gold cup, 397 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,440 Speaker 1: tea tray and a knife, fork and spoon. The cup 398 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:41,679 Speaker 1: was inscribed to Victoria Davies from her godmother Victoria, Queen 399 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:47,280 Speaker 1: of Great Britain in Ireland eighteen sixty three. Sarah and 400 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,879 Speaker 1: James would have two more children in relatively quick succession, 401 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: and Sarah periodically returned to England to visit the Queen 402 00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: and to show the Queen her namesake children. But by 403 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:02,920 Speaker 1: the mid eighteen seven and these Sarah was suffering from tuberculosis, 404 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,640 Speaker 1: and no doubt her condition wasn't helped by the stress 405 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:09,879 Speaker 1: of her husband's failing business, which by this point was 406 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:13,679 Speaker 1: twenty thousand pounds in debt. It was thought, for the 407 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:16,840 Speaker 1: second time in her life, that a gentler climate would 408 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 1: help Sarah's health, and so she was moved to Madeira, 409 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 1: the island region off the coast of Portugal. In eighteen eighty, 410 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 1: at only thirty seven years old, Sarah Forbes Banetta died. 411 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,680 Speaker 1: Her daughter Victoria, was en route to visit her godmother, 412 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:36,080 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria when she heard the news of her mother's death. 413 00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:40,960 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria received her at Osborne House and wrote in 414 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:45,880 Speaker 1: her diary, my black god child was dreadfully upset and distressed. 415 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,880 Speaker 1: Her father had failed in business, which aggravated her poor 416 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: mother's illness. I shall give her an annuity. Sarah Forbes 417 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,479 Speaker 1: Panetta was buried on Madeira, but back in Laga, her 418 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 1: husband erected an obelisk in her honor. It's a small, 419 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,560 Speaker 1: permanent stone reminder of a woman who was thrust across 420 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 1: the sea, forced to live a new life, and who 421 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 1: died too young. It's strange to try to unravel the 422 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,640 Speaker 1: legacy of Sarah Forbes Banetta when so much of her 423 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: story has been told through the words of others. But 424 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:38,720 Speaker 1: there's one absolutely fascinating modern figure with a direct tie 425 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:44,000 Speaker 1: to her. Sarah Forbes, Vanetta's great great granddaughter, was born 426 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:48,160 Speaker 1: in Nigeria. She graduated from the University of Lagos College 427 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 1: of Medicine and worked as a resident at the Lagos 428 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 1: University Teaching Hospital. Her name was a Mayo Dadavo, and 429 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: when she correctly recognized that a patient, a Liberian businessman, 430 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:04,440 Speaker 1: was exhibiting symptoms of ebola, she forced him into quarantine. 431 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:08,280 Speaker 1: Despite pressure from the Liberian ambassador, who wanted the patient 432 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 1: discharge without the proper protective equipment a data vote, still 433 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:18,000 Speaker 1: tried to isolate the patient and prevent widespread infection. She 434 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:21,480 Speaker 1: herself was infected and she died of the Ebola virus 435 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:25,120 Speaker 1: in two thousand and fourteen, but her quick thinking and 436 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:30,440 Speaker 1: brave actions saved countless lives. Later that year, after the 437 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:34,560 Speaker 1: Nigerian Ministry of Health set up an Ebola Emergency Operation Center, 438 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:51,040 Speaker 1: the World Health Organization declared Nigeria Ebola Free. Noble Blood 439 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,400 Speaker 1: is a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm and 440 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: Mild from Aaron Minky. The show was written and hosted 441 00:30:56,680 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 1: by Dana Schwartz. Executive producers include air Manky, Alex Williams, 442 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:05,520 Speaker 1: and Matt Frederick. The show is produced by rema Ill 443 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:09,240 Speaker 1: Kali and Trevor Young. Noble Blood is on social media 444 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,920 Speaker 1: at Noble Blood Tales, and you can learn more about 445 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:14,720 Speaker 1: the show over at Noble Blood Tales dot com. For 446 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,560 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart 447 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 448 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,160 Speaker 1: favorite shows. M