George John Scipio Africanus
Company: Africanus' Register of Servants
Position: Founder
Industry: Services
Country: United kingdom
Africanus was the first black entrepreneur in Nottingham England. He was born in 1763 in Sierra Leone in West Africa before eventurally ending up in England as a slave. He was given as a present to wealthy businessman Benjamin Molineux, who lived in
Wolverhampton. Molineux's family where the ones to give him the name Africanus. They ensured he grew up able to read and write, and he served his apprenticeship
as a brass founder in one of the Molineux family's foundries. Africanus who had won his freedom long before the Abolition of the Slave Trade Laws in 1807. Africanus moved to Nottingham to work as a brass founder in 1784 and was married in 1788 to Esther Shaw a local woman.George and Esther founded the Africanus' Register of Servants, an employment
agency which remained a family business for more than 70 years. He became a freeholder, owning his own family home as well as business
premises and accommodation he rented out. This also allowed him the right to vote. Africanus died in 1834 aged 71.
If you like this article then please consider subscribing to our full feed RSS. You can also subscribe by Email and have new posts sent directly to your inbox. You can also subscribe by adding our feed to one of the following services by clicking on the appropriate buttons.
