What a great collection. Enjoyed the commentary.
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(post deleted by author)
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I misread your post. I totally agree that the line was crossed into politics. I do wish the pendulum would swing back the other way.
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I did. I also knew about slavery throughout what became the British Empire. Of course, by then, Americans had decided to go a different way which may explain why it continued in that country for much longer than elsewhere.
And, of course, black Britons with a Caribbean heritage have ancestors who were enslaved. The port of Liverpool, some 35 miles from my home, was extremely active in the trade. Today the International Slavery Museum is a significant part of the city’s National Museums.
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The UK and France financed the American Civil War.
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Indeed so, Alan.
In real life, I am a military history researcher and author. My focus is on the Great War (and there’s an interesting aspect about the differing ways of how the various Allies, treated their non-white troops) . But my interest in military history was sparked by America’s War Between the States and several of my visits to the States, over the years, have been to follow the progress of the War.
The city at the centre of my metro area is Manchester. it’s wealth was built on cotton - in the 19th century, its nickname was Cottonopolis. The war created a major dilemma for the cotton merchants. On the one hand, their income and wealth was obviously curtailed by the blockade of Southern ports. But, on the other hand, many had religious beliefs which led them to conclude slavery was abhorrent. Not for for nothing do we proudly have a statue of Lincoln in the city centre.
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Many people do not realize how multicultural Britain is.
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Do you mean "Great Britain ", as in UK including various countries, islands and common wealths ? I am still confused by the country/nation/sovereign state/terratories, and commonwealth stuff. I know London is diverse, but I am curious about the rest of the UK.
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You’d find that major British conurbations are much more diverse than small towns and rural communities. It’s where the work is, so folk gravitate there. My guess is that this is common to many other European countries.
The Manchester area has generally welcomed immigrants. I suppose that starts with Sephardic Jews in the 18th century and has reflected general population movements since then .
This Wiki article about the UK is probably as helpful as anything else for a beginner wanting to better understand the make-up of these islands.
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Thank you! I read a bit more every time the subject of the parts of the UK come upot* of links there! Since my visit in September last year, (What a time to be in the UK!) I’ve trying to wrap my head around the "overseas territories " . They are certainly culturally diverse!
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The “overseas territories” are fascinating. There’s at least a couple of books about them. There’s 14 of them. The Falkland Islands will be well known to many people. As probably will Bermuda. But Pitcairn Island, with its population of about 50? That’s where the “Mutiny on the Bounty” crew ended up. And I presume the American Virgin Islands have a similar link to the States,as the British Virgin Islands have to the UK.
By the by, it was only on Tuesday when I visited one. Just for the afternoon. Our cruise stopped at Gibraltar, which I’ve visited twice before.
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My mother’s family is from Nevis which "declared independence " from the UK in 1983, and my husband is from Jamaica which was "granted independence " in 1962. I think at least Jamaica is part of "The Commonwealth ", an expression I was not familiar with until quite recently.
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I mean Great Britain.
Most mid-sized and large cities are very diverse.
Many people from what had been British colonies moved to Britain. People from the Mediterranean have often come to the UK for work. The greasy spoons called cafes (pronounced caff) were originally run by Italians, but over the last 20 years, are often run by Poles who have come to Britain for work. Northern England has many cities with very large South Asian populations. The foods reflect the diversity.
The rural parts are less diverse. Same in Canada. Same in Ohio. 
The Commonwealth includes Canada, Australia. India, etc. When I was in school, the Commonwealth countries were red on the world map and on globes. I don’t know if American world maps used that colour system on their world maps.
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I used to work with someone from Nevis and know the islands had something of a troubled history which delayed independance longer than other countries in the area. You may know that, originally St Kitts & Nevis also included Anguilla but it declared itself independent and now continues separately as a British Overseas Territory. Anguilla’s main reason was the political influence of the larger St Kitts and I recall my ex-colleague saying that many from Nevis felt the same way, even though the country of St Kitts and Nevis has been independent for 40 years now.
St Kitts & Nevis and Jamaica are two of the 56 member countries of the Commonwealth. Formed in the early 1950s, most countries are former British colonies but other countries which have joined which had no previous ties with the UK.
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As we’re a food forum, I’ll stick to that side of things (sort of). In the 1840s, my family lived in the Ancoats area of Manchester - a very poor and very industrial area. They worked in the local iron foundries, alongside a largish number of Italians who had come to northwest England to “escape” from the rural poverty of their country. It became a sizeable community - our own “Little Italy”. And several families started to make ice cream. And these are the names still associated with ice cream in the city - Marco Rea, Sivori.
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The day I eat more cornbread and collard/mustard greens (neckbone steeped) than any other day. Love some fried chicken and red rice and homemade mac n cheese.
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