Dido Elizabeth Belle: From Slavery to Aristocracy
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- Опубликовано: 16 май 2023
- Dido Belle (1761-1804) was a remarkable woman who defied social conventions and impacted British history. Born to an enslaved African woman and a British naval officer, Dido Belle was raised in England by her great-uncle, the Earl of Mansfield. Despite her mixed-race heritage, she received an education and enjoyed the privilege, which was uncommon for a person of African descent at the time. Her presence in his household provided a unique perspective on issues of race and justice, influencing his ruling and advancing the cause of abolition. Dido Belle's story challenges conventional narratives, symbolizing resilience and advocating for racial equality in 18th-century Britain. Her life is a testament to the strength and contributions of individuals who defied societal norms to fight for justice.
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What an amazing woman!
And the fact that she navigated such a precarious world as well as she did....
I would love to go back in history to her time just to chat with her.
So many fascinating people that inspire us with their stories both great and small.
Can you imagine talking with Julius Caesar for an hour?
I can...
Fodder for daydreams
Thank you Marcus, much appreciated 😊
I want to go back in time and chat with abraham, king Solomon and a few others myself. That would be awesome
What a tumultuous biography!!! I remember seeing the movie about Dido Belle a number of years ago. But this video really has educated me about what her life was like. ❤
Glad you enjoyed it Cassandra, thanks as always 😊
Is this based on the movie Belle?
@@msrain1235 this is the real story, movie belle is the opposite of her real story
Dido's mother was Maria Bell. She got rpdd by Sir John Lindsay at 14 and gave birth to Dido at 15. John Lindsay was 25 at the time. SMH🤔 The age gap and rp were sickening to say the least
Dido couldn't do something as simple as eat with the family but she was viewed as Elizabeth's equal. Right, Paula. 🙄
I think I read about a ward of Queen Victoria who happened to be a little black girl from Africa. She was also given the privilege of a royal upbringing without being royal herself. I'd like a video about her story, please, if possible. 🤔
I'll have a look into that Carmen, thanks for watching 😊
That little girl was royal and queen Victoria's god - daughter
@@ahmedzahir2865 Oh, really?! I'm so ignorant. Queen Victoria had an interesting personal story I hardly knew about. 🤔
I think her name was Sara Forbes Bonetta
I think you got this from the BBC television show "Victoria," where the truth was distorted. British forces fighting in Ethiopia brought Prince Alemayehu to England, and Queen Victoria took him in. He lived in agonizing luxury until he died at the age of 18. It was a different world back then; when the queen dressed him up and showed him off like a household pet, she (and almost everybody else) truly believed that what she was doing was for the best, even though the prince begged all his life to go back. Ever since, his family and the Ethiopian government -- who see this as a kidnapping -- have been requesting that his remains be sent home, or at least an apology. Just last month, in May of 2023, Buckingham Palace refused another request.
I came across Dido Belle through the wonderful portrait of her. She looks so full of life, beautiful and with such a glint of mischief in her eyes I suspect she would have been a most captivating person to know. Thank you for the wider back story about her. Really informative.
Thank you Angela 😊
Absolutely brilliant! Dido Belle’s story is so overlooked. Thanks for the video!!
My pleasure Elle, appreciate you watching, thank you 😊
Wonderfully made video. Dido's life reminded me of the history of Creoles of French Louisiana. Thank you for teaching about her interesting life.
My pleasure Vishnu, thank you so much 😊
The lovely audio and visuals made this story really come alive. TFS! ❤
Thank you 😊
This was very interesting. I never heard of her before, so I learned something new. What an upbringing she had, not perfect, but far from bad. Thank you 😊
Overall a very lucky girl to be where she was. Thank you Anita 😊
Fascinating story, well told. Do we know what happened to her mother?
She was sent to the US, thanks for watching 😊
@@HistoryRoadshow Thanks!
@@HistoryRoadshowhow horrible as a slave i guess and never been able to raise her own child so cruel
Gosh!..You bring us some of the most amazing stories of women that make up the fabric of Society Jon...Fascinating women who are still remembered today..Thankyou so much!🇦🇺
It's a pleasure Catherine, so glad you're enjoying the content. 😊
What an interesting story. I'd never heard of her before. Great video!
Thanks as always Liam 😊
After I saw the portrait of Dido Belle with Lady Elizabeth Murray for the very first time I tried to learn everything I could find about her. Even though her family treated her with kindness it must’ve rankled her to know that the only thing that was different about her life from the rest of the circle of society that her family moved in was the color of her skin. Dido was probably smarter than most of the people who looked down on her for being biracial. Do you know if she had any dealings with William Wilberforce and his anti slavery group? She would certainly have been a help to their cause.
There's no mention of Wilberforce in her story, that's not to say she never met him. Thanks for watching 😊
her race, her skin color, her illegitimacy, her wealth, her social position. not just color though but probably that's the biggest issue.
her sons worked for Colonialism slavry through East India company... so it's kinda ironic
@@samanthasmith61- Her skin color is all that you needed to say, in terms of "race", as there is no such thing as race.
Another great video. I have learned of of this interesting woman before and you did her life story extremely well as always. The pictures you use were absolutely stunning, from infant to adult. Thank you Jon.
Thanks Melissa, really appreciate you watching and support 😊
Great stuff! i knew nothing about her until this! awesome video !!
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks 😊
Yours has become 1 of my favorite channels! Thank you for your work!
That's really nice of you, thank you 😊
Fascinating story great video as usual full of facts and information
Thanks Wendy much appreciated 😊
Love learning new stuff. Very interesting.
Thanks as always Mary Ann 😊
Thank you Jon. Dido painting she looks like an adorable cheeky imp.
That's the only image of her! Thank you 😊
Throughly enjoyed this Jon xxx
Thanks Rosie, another one tonight! 😊
@@HistoryRoadshow I’ll be there xx
The story of Dido (love that name) Bell is just fascinating.
Very interesting to come across the video of Dido! I happened to watch the movie about her three weeks ago and enjoyed it. I did not know some of the details of her life until this video. Thank you!
Thanks Vanessa 😊
Esta historia es simplemente hermosa!!!
Muchas gracias es realmente apreciada 😊
Always found the portrait of her and her half-sister very mysterious. Thank you Jon!
there's always a movie about her but it's quite the opposite of her real life
I had seen the movie about her life. This video brought her life's more interesting knowledge. Thank you for a
well done story of a person's life, not a slave anymore, but a
person that lived on the fringe
of society norms. I love the portrait with her in it, she was very pretty. With an impish smile. It's too bad that she had a short life.
Thank you 😊
the movie was practically 90% Fictional, almost the opposite to her real life... I think a new more accurate movie would be better
This is going to be GOOD, where are my pop corn😍❤❤❤❤❤❤
I just watched the movie about Dido on u tube. It was nicely down. Great acting on all parts.
When I was young we lived fairly near to Kenwood House, and often went to that area for walks, it's beautiful there, and all public access nowadays, and they had concerts in the gorunds sometimes. I remember the lovely big house, but had no idea of the story of Dido at that time. What a fascinating story, altho it makes me very angry that she had to navigate the prejudices thrown at her - I hope her final days with a husband & children were happy even if she did not live to old age !
I hope so but her £100 annuity at 1804 had way less purchasing power than in 1793, so she might struggle financially. (we have to remember that Jane Austen poorest character Ms Bates lived on £150 a year, I guess since they were genteel circle) but again Dido was married to a servant, so they won't be in genteel social circle.
her life was better with the prejudice than ended up as slave/property in the West Indies like so many people born to her situation.
THIS was GOOD!🌹
Thanks Rosie 😊
@@HistoryRoadshow No, kind sir, thank YOU! All things history are very fascinating to me. As, they should be to everyone.( just my opinion 🥰).🌹
I came here from watching a video of the Christmas light trail 2023 at Kenwood House! My goodness, what would all those aristocrats think if they could come back and see their house now? They would surely think it was witchcraft! Wonderful fascinating and poignant story of Dido..
such an amazing presentation! liked and subscribed.
From Lady Elizabeth's wikipedia, she was said to inherit £10,000 from Lord Mansfield and an additional of £7,000 from her father. she would also receive her aunts's wealth of £22,000 in due times (it was given to them by Lord Mansfield but as they were unmarried Lord M knew eventually Elizabeth would benefit from the wealth, and she did in 1818 when her aunt passed away), her father left another £5,000 in his will for her children. this would make Lady Elizabeth's total inherited wealth around £40,000 -£44,000 (all from the same source Lord Mansfield's wealth)
As an international adoptee growing up in a unempathic family and society, I can identify w her. Being told you re included but not treated as such.
Ppl using nonwhite children to enhance themselves and to have someone "inferior". To demean nonwhitechildren is still a thing unril this day.
gurl! you don't understand, Dido was born a slave, her birthright was to be slave herself and live a life that worse than hell....
but she was lucky and plucked out of that to live luxuriously at Kenwood, the family had done more than she could ever imagine..... obviously it will never be equal to Elizabeth, but the family even endure shame and embarrassment keeping her there, they treated her really well, in itself they ve crossed many boundaries at the time for people of Dido's origin
Lady Elizabeth Murray was daughter of an Earl 💀 she is literally superior than Daphne Bridgerton.... no shht Dido who was illegitimate and legally a slve couldn't be treated the same
As much as her life was better than her mother’s and other black slaves, it’s still sad she had to navigate the society she never asked to be part of.
I guess she made the most of it, especially being intelligent and educated, however, she is only human and as much as they loved her they kept her hidden and the disparity in her inheritance shows that. This was probably due to society’s norm at the time, although she would be reminded on a daily basis that she isn’t one of them, and that’s what’s sad.
Seems like she had a nice life, becoming a mother, which is the best job in the world and to be loved unconditionally. I wonder what happened to her children?
@@user-mq2kt1kx1cher c children led a colonial life, her last descendants a car mechanic died in 1975 in south Africa
@@samanthasmith61 thanks for the reply.
👑
What was the name of the movie plz?
BELLE... 2013 movie 🎬 🎞 🎥
I always wondered if she knew either Queen Charlotte ( who loved gossip) or if she had visited France she may have know of Sally Hemmings.
They were all alive around the same time.
her cousin and Lord Mansfield went to Queen Charlotte's birthday and balls quite often...👀
her cousin's father was the british ambassador to France, he was confidant of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, he even got a desk from her in scone palace. Benjamin Franklin also wrote letters to him
But what happened to Dido's decendants? What did she die of? I need to actually know!
She married and had sons with a white man, so it’s very likely that her children were white-passing (and continued the “white” bloodline for the remaining generations). Of course, the descendants might have also had “illegitimate” mixed children with non-white women, as was common in colonial times, but no information has been found regarding that possibility.
Try again, for the most part she was a servant in that home and was only trotted out in finery for specific special occasions. The history described here is still a distortion, though I’m glad she is not forgotten. Perhaps it will motivate others to dig deeper into her story…
wrong! she was an heiress and nobility, have you seen her movie?
@@samanthasmith61 So the movie suggests she married an attorney. This video suggests she married a French stewart. Which is it?😅
@@ladylemur3802 i just read her wikipedia again, John daviniere was a servant of french origin, he worked as a valet not steward
the movie was a nonsense lmao everything is the opposite 🤣 her cousin was the heiress irl
What happened to her mom?
@@PermenBoba-dq3jb Thanx a lot!!! 🥰
Don't think it was a bond,she wouldn't have had a choice.
no she loved him, he was so handsome and rich, it's was 1000% consent have u watch the movie, they were in love, he left Dido a huge fortune making her heiress and richer than her poor cousin that's why no men wants her
She died at the age of only 42
her mother was 14 when dido was concieved......
@@samanthasmith61 and her father was
24 at the time .. leave that sink in
@@islandfever825yes she was rped hard, i imagine that as a slve she was probably malnourished and doesn't look her age (smaller)😢
So, instead of producing absurd “documentaries” like Netflix Cleopatra, why not making one about this fascinating woman?
I'm guessing it's not as happy or inspiring I suppose, for the most part she did nothing except being his uncle's helper
There is a movie about her.
@@spikesgirl9371yes the movie that might as well changed her name too (oh yes they did change her name adding the Lindsay when she was actually forbidden to use the name irl) since it was obnoxiously inaccurate, they literally change Dido into her cousin and vice versa... why is that?
...what of her 3 Son's, did they have any Children, i'm wondering...? 🤔 & IF so are there ANY LIVING relatives around TODAY in 2023...?
.... never-ending questions, just wondering 🤔 💭....
read her Wikipedia, no she had no living descendants today
her cousin got a lot of descendants tho, some even married a Vanderbilt
Y'all kill me with these glossy descriptions "an unlikely bond..." You mean Kidnapper/Enslaver and Enslaved?🙄🙄🙄
Yeah...really "unlikely" that the enslaved person would do what she was FORCED to do.🙄🙄🙄
Bridgerton irl
she fell in love with handsome captain don't ruin it, when she died she left Dido a fortune
He is wrong when he said she was unique. Wealthy planters in the west indies often took children from their mothers and sent them to England and France to be educated.
He isn't wrong all of them were unique and certainly not the norm for actual full black or half black people at the time.... and by "educated" you mean whitewashed because they are half white.
In fact Dido was the only one that was taken back to England by her British white parent...but still not treated equally, all British white officer just "have their fun" and then give their illegitimate bstrd to be extra slave for the planters.
Sir John Lindsay himself definitely have fun with a 14yo slve named Maria Belle, she gave birth to Dido when she was 15, sicko no matter what he did for his 1 of 5 illegitimate child, he was clearly not a good man
True
I thought her mother was either half or quarter black and they are playing up her africaness today
it's another person, her mother is more likely full African but who knows, Dido from the picture does look like the biracial actress who potrayed her, the movie was complete opposite though, they switched up her and her cousin's story
Dido’s back story, Dido family came from a long line of royalty and priests whose kingdom fell to another nation. The forefathers were exiled into servitude and were forced to pay taxes. When they ran into debt they were captured and forced into slavery lasting a life time while the criminals steal her wealth identity and remix her culture. Why do they do it merely for the fact she comes from God and they know it however the rest come from God but choose to follow evil
i knew she was a princess, John daviniere should be called a prince
Learn More On DidoElizabethBelle:AllthingsGeorgian,the blog.EtienneP.Daly.
Dido is amazing but her biological parents, I am afraid what actually went down 🫣
it was a love story have you seen the movie❤
@samanthasmith61 yes i have seen the movie. Loved it so much, but lowkey i was so scared if we got a sugar coated version of the real story.
It was such an amazing movie and i am glad to know that it was a love story and nothing unhinged. I got to find a lot about Dido's life but not much on her biological parents. So thank u!!
@@casebycase_904 nvm lmao, her Wikipedia literally polar opposite to the movie. Her mom was 14 when sir John impregnated her yikes....... and 15 when Dido was born, i guess they did more than sugarcoat
Given that enslaved black women couldn't refuse or often escape the "attention" of white men or "owners", we can't really say these "relationships" were loving or consensual per se. However, Sir John Lindsay's decision to keep Dido Belle from slavery and placing her within his family, shows he had an affection for her as his child, and may have had affection for her mother despite the factors at the time. We will just never be able to really know if it was a circumstance of love, circumstantial benefits, or force for Dido's mother. Also was she really dead when he took Dido or did he take Dido with the idea of a "better" life for her, but leave her mother behind? There is a YT video that reveals how the infamous picture was eventually discovered hundreds of years later after having been taken down and buried in a mansion storage room after Lord Mansfield died. So while the family "allowed" her to be amongst them during her life. She was something to be forgotten at the same time. Her not receiving inheritance from her father upon his death and a comparatively minimal amount from Lord Mansfield speaks volumes. She was never legally referenced as his "niece" vs her cousin Elizabeth. Though Dido was still benefitted beyond any expectation for someone like her. I agree that we have to be careful not to romanticize the circumstances. In the end we know what the history is and the same issues we still struggle with today. Her blessing was that she herself escaped slavery, but not discrimination and racism. Glad her story was told though. It's believed she has no existing heirs. Her last known decendant (possibly one of her sons or a grandson) died in South Africa without children.
@@sheerlylavendar her mother was 14 when she was SA by her father 💀 so you are saying he was attracted to a child slve? (as a slve she would also be malnourished and probably smaller than she ought to be)💀 he was a dsgtn! ped0fiI and rapst.
he probably wanted to spare Dido from the horrible stuff which he also participated and did 😒... i read some books that they even SA slve as young as 8...
Google:EtienneP.Daly&DidoElizabethBelle for her true life!!!