Synopsis
A full understanding of Black and Asian history within the British contextis integral to achieving a truly multicultural Britain. In this landmark book, Ron Ramdin offers the first complete history of both the Black and Asian experience in Britain. Blacks and Asians have a long history in the British Isles. Ramdin illustrates this by covering a five hundred year period, from 1500 to the present day. He recounts the major historical episodes and covers all the major figures, including Ottobah Cugoano, William Cuffay, Henry Sylvester Williams, George Padmore, Mary Seacole, C.L.R. James, V.S. Naipaul, Sam Selvon, Walter Tull, Shirley Bassey, Bill Morris, Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureshi, Diane Abbott and Bernie Grant. In bringing the largely hidden histories of these two immigrant communities to the forefront, Ron Ramdin's wide-ranging study challenges conventional histories of the British Isles. Reimaging Britain will lead to a reappraisal of how we write 'British' history in the future.