Black Tudors and the Sea

Africae Tabula Nova (A new map of Africa) (1570)

Abraham Ortelius

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London: PBD7640(4)

Look Closer:

• Can you find Benin?
• It’s towards the west, near the coast.
• What can you see in the Atlantic Ocean?
• What clues can you find on the map that tell you it was made a long time ago?
• • Why do you think Benin is well positioned for trade?
• • How does this map differ from a more recent map of Africa?

Edo people
c.1500

©The Trustees of the British Museum

Look Closer:

• What do you think this sculpture might be made from?
• It was made over 500 years ago. How do you think it was made?
• What does this sculpture tell you about Queen Mother Idia?
• Do you think it would have been valuable to the people it belonged to? Why/why not?

Piper guineense, (Benin pepper)

J.Fleishmann

Public domain

Look Closer:

• Can you see the peppercorns? How might you grind these down to sprinkle into food?
• Have you tasted pepper like this? How would you describe it?
• Why do you think pepper would have been valuable in Tudor England?

Studio of Hans Holbein (c.1505)

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird collection: BHC2762

Look Closer:

• What do Henry VII’s clothes tell you about him?
• Do you think he looks like king? Why/why not?
• Do you think he is old or young in this portrait?

Detail from the Westminster Tournament Roll (1511)

College of Arms MS Westminster Tournament Roll.

Reproduced by permission of the Kings, Heralds and Pursuivants of Arms.

Look Closer:

• What are the trumpeters wearing?
• What can you see on the banners hanging from the trumpets? What do you think these symbols might mean?
• Do you think being a royal trumpeter would have been a good job during the Tudor period?

Henry VIII, 1451–1547

Studio of Hans Holbein (c.1535)

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection: BHC2763

Look Closer:

• Look carefully at Henry’s clothes. How would you describe them? What do you think his clothes say about him?
• Henry wanted to appear powerful in this portrait. Do you think he does? Why/why not?
• If this portrait could speak, what do you think it would say?

Model of the Mary Rose, 1509; a 60 gun warship (1986–91)

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London: SLR3012

Look Closer:

• The Mary Rose was a warship. What can you see that might help the ship in a battle?
• The Mary Rose could carry around 500 officers and crew. Where do you think they would have slept? Would officers and crew have slept in the same place?
• What do you think the wooden ‘baskets’ high up in the masts are for? (They are called ‘fighting tops’ which might give you a clue.)
• What powered this ship?

Canav Pour Pecher Les Perles (Canoe for Pearl-Fishing),

Histoire naturelle des Indes : manuscript, ca. 1586., fol. 59 recto. ca. 1586. The Morgan Library & Museum. MA 3900. Bequest of Clara S. Peck, 1983.

Look Closer:

• The people in this image are divers like Jacques Francis. They are diving for pearls off the coast of South America. Can you see how they might collect them?
• What skills do you think these people might have that help them to find pearls in this way?
• What would they need to be good at?
• What might they have done with the pearls they found?
• There is no known image of Jacques Francis that survives from Tudor times. Why do you think this is?

c.1588

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. Acquired with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, Art Fund, Linbury Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Headley Trust and other major donors, together with contributions from over 8000 members of the public following a joint appeal with Art Fund. ZBA7719

Look Closer:

• Elizabeth I wanted to appear powerful in this portrait. Do you think she does? Why/why not?
• What can you see in the background of this portrait? What message do you think this sends about Elizabeth I and England?
• Elizabeth I would have been about 55 years old when this portrait was painted. Do you think she really looked like this?

Coat of Arms for Sir John Hawkins (1568)

The North Devon Record Office and The North Devon Athenaeum

Look Closer:

• A coat of arms includes designs and symbols that say something about the person it belongs to. What can you see on this coat of arms?
• What do you think the colours, shapes and pictures on this coat of arms say about John Hawkins? Do you think he was brave, kind or mean? How would you describe him?
• Why did John Hawkins include a Black man on his coat of arms? Does it look as though this man is free?

Sir Francis Drake, 1540–96

by Marcus Gheeraerts, 1591

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird collection: BHC2662

Look Closer:

• What can you see in the portrait? Why do you think Drake is standing next to a globe?
• What do you think this portrait says about Francis Drake?
• What do his clothes tell you about him?
• Can you see the Drake jewel given to him by Elizabeth I hanging from his belt?

The Golden Hind ‘when Drake set off for the Spanish Main’ (date unknown) by R.E Arnold

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London: PAF7916

Look Closer:

• Can you see the English flag at the top of the ship? Why do you think ships flew flags like this?
• Look carefully at the sails – is the ship sailing towards you or away from you in the painting?
• Would you have wanted to voyage around the world on a ship like this, with Diego and Drake? Why/why not?

Illustration by Shaun Campbell, 2021

Look Closer:

• This portrait was made in 2021 based on the little information there is about Cattelena. Why do you think there is no image of her from Stuart times?
• Almondsbury is a small village in the countryside not far from the port city of Bristol. How do you think Cattelena came to be living there?
• What might her name ‘Cattelena’ tell us about her?

Runaway from the Tower notice

London Gazette 5-7 January, 1687

TRANSCRIPT - On the 30th December last, run away from Mr Thomas Dymock at the Lion Office in the Tower, a Black boy with about 10 lbs [weight] in silver and one Guinea. He is aged about 16, wore three coloured coats, the uppermost cinnamon colour lined with black, black shag facings on the sleeves, grey stockings, a silver collar about his neck engraved Thomas Dymock at the Lion Office. Whoever shall apprehend him and bring him to the Lion Office in the Tower shall have two guineas reward and charges born. He speaks but bad English and has holes in both his ears.

Look Closer:

• How old is Edward?
• Why does he run away wearing three coats?
• We don’t have any historical sources that give us Edward’s point of view. Why do you think he wanted to run away?
• Why does he have a silver collar about his neck? What does that tell us about how he was treated?
• Should a human being ever own another human being?
• Edward’s name is not given in this notice. What does that tell us about how he was viewed by Thomas Dymock?

Ship’s biscuit (1784) Very few ship’s biscuits survive from the Tudor period - this is one of the oldest in our collection. The recipe and process for making these biscuits would have changed very little.

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London: AAB0003

Look Closer:

• The large holes in the biscuit were made as part of the baking process. But can you see some tiny holes where weevils have begun to burrow into it?
• What do you think this biscuit would have smelt and tasted like?
• What other sorts of food do you think a Tudor ship may have carried to feed the crew on a long voyage?

Mariner’s astrolabe (c.1588) National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London: NAV0022

Mariner’s compass (c.1570) National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird fund: NAV0276

Look Closer:

• Can you see which parts of the astrolabe move? Why do you think it has moving parts?
• Which point on the compass do you think might indicate north?
• Do you know what ship’s navigators use today to find their way instead of these instruments?