Historians share their EUREKA! moments

We’ve all had a moment like it. That flash of inspiration. That shock of insight. That moment when the stars align and you suddenly understand. Here, eleven historians share the ‘Eureka moment’ that set them on course to specialising in their chosen field.

Dr Miranda Kaufmann

I remember well the moment that History laid down her gauntlet and challenged me to pursue research into Africans in Early Modern Britain. It was when I read the line ‘There are of late divers blackamoors brought into this realme’ in a Privy Council letter of 11th July 1596. Until that moment I had no idea there were any Africans in Elizabethan England- I had imagined Tudor sailors had encountered Africans on their travels, but not at home. From then on, it became my mission to find out all I could about these ‘blackamoors’- how they got to England, where they lived, what they did, and how they were treated- and share their story with the world.

Dr Miranda Kaufmann’s first book, Black Tudors, will be published by Oneworld in autumn 2016. If you can’t wait that long, check out her website for her latest blogs, articles and details of her upcoming talks. ...