The Lost Child (BBC Documentary
Cornelius Hamelberg
The Lost Child (BBC Documentary
Vincent Gustavus Vassa Equiano is a little more misty. The Lost Child (BBC Documentary) is located in more contemporary Diaspora history. One of the descendants tells us (on BBC) that this is just one of several such astounding stories - like the movie Blood Diamond – just one of many such stories...
“In The Lost Child, Zeinab Badawi looks back to the mid-19th century to uncover a remarkable and unique tale that has remained in the footnotes of history. It is the story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a young girl rescued from a life of slavery in West Africa, brought to England and taken under the wing of Queen Victoria.
Forbes
Bonetta was a young Yoruba girl living in West Africa, in what was then known
as the Slave Coast. After her family were slaughtered in a brutal raid by a
rival tribe, she was rescued by a British naval officer and brought to live in
England.
On her arrival, she was presented to Queen Victoria, who welcomed her warmly
and provided generously for her upkeep and education. She became a regular
visitor to the Queen and her family at their royal homes and formed a lifelong
and close attachment to the royal family.
A celebrity in England and admired by many for her intelligence, social skills
and musical talents, this film charts the happiness and heartbreak in this
extraordinary woman’s life and examines how she became part of the changing
debate about slavery, race, identity and empire.
The Lost Child will air on Saturday, 24 May at 11:10 and 23:10 as well
as on Sunday, 25 May at 17:10 on BBC World News, channel 400 on DStv.
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