From analysis of primary historical records and the few portraits that survive, I argue that Bonetta was carefully crafted as a living testament to the superiority of British civilization, touted in part to justify British imperial efforts in the nineteenth century. Her African history, distinct features, and aptitude were ubiquitously highlighted. As abolition became the clarion call for Victorian Britain, Bonetta was molded into this moral mission’s poster child. Bought as a child from Africa, she was passed from British hand to British hand, molded by ulterior motives. As a young black woman, Bonetta’s story stands as a paradigmatic microcosm of gender and race theory in Victorian Britain. Only in quite recent years has her story begun to emerge as historians have searched for overlooked women and overlooked Africans in western history.
This research explores the nearly-erased history of a prominent figure of Victorian England.
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