The period between 1714 and 1837 heralded exciting times that were full of opportunity for the people of the British Isles and is termed the Georgian era after the ruling Hanoverian kings. The agricultural revolution was in full swing with British productivity amongst the highest in the world. Britain was also at the forefront of the industrial revolution making it an economic powerhouse. Defeat of the French in the second 100 years war made Britain the preeminent military force in the world. The British people were beginning to enjoy greater freedom than ever before. Abroad, the American declaration of independence and the French revolution were examples of people the world over demanding greater freedom. Unfortunately, the Afro-Georgians were denied the benefits brought about by this era of dynamic change.
The Afro-Georgian community of Britain numbered 20 thousand at its peak. A result of Africans bought by wealthy Britons for domestic servitude, black Americans who fought for the British during the American war of independence and the enslaved fleeing the harsh conditions of plantation life in the Americas. Legal rulings by the Lord Chief Justice Lord Mansfield and lobbying by the abolitionist Granville Sharpe established the principle that no person in England could be enslaved. Yet, the lives of the Afro-Georgians remained perilous and their exclusion from mainstream society continued. There was also the constant threat of gaol and the illegal forced repatriation back into slavery in the Americas. Despite the Lord Mansfield ruling, sadly, it would be many decades before the freedom enjoyed by the Europeans and European Americans would reach black peoples. However, thanks to the efforts of the Afro-Georgians emancipation came sooner rather than later.