Out of Africa: Six Famous Black Figures from European and New World History

People with “dark skin” and “Europeans” are not separate and mutually exclusive groups. Europe has never been a racially homogeneous continent - it has always maintained connections with darker-skinned populations through trade, politics, and cultural exchange.

Here are six remarkable historical figures who demonstrate this rich, interconnected history:

Thomas-Alexandre Dumas

The biological father of author Alexandre Dumas became the first person of color to achieve the rank of brigadier general and divisional general in the French Army. He led the “Free Legion of Americans,” nicknamed the “Black Legion,” during the French Revolution. His remarkable military career began in 1786 and spanned sixteen years of rapid advancement through the ranks.

Juan Latino

Granada’s Renaissance scholar and Latinist published three volumes of poetry in the mid-sixteenth century. His work challenged religious justifications for slavery and employed sophisticated wordplay techniques. In his poem “Austrias Carmen,” he wrote of establishing the dignity of all black Africans, using his considerable learning to advocate for his people.

Black Caesar

An African tribal war chief turned pirate, Black Caesar operated around the Florida Keys in the early eighteenth century. After escaping slave captivity, he eventually commanded his own vessels and built a fearsome reputation. He served as chief lieutenant under the famous pirate Blackbeard aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge. His conviction for piracy resulted in execution in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1718.

William Brown

Exceptionally notable for being both the first woman and first person of color in the Royal Navy, Brown disguised her gender and served from 1804 until her true identity was discovered in 1815 aboard the Queen Charlotte. Her story challenges multiple historical assumptions about who served in naval forces.

Jean-Louis Michel

A nineteenth-century fencing master and son of a Haitian woman and French Army fencing coach, Michel became legendary for his skill with the blade. He famously advised that “a foil should be held as one holds a little bird; not so tightly as to crush it” - wisdom that fencing masters still teach today. He defeated multiple Italian masters in combat and later established a fencing academy in Montpellier.

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George

Born in Guadeloupe to a wealthy planter and an enslaved African woman, Saint-Georges became a champion fencer, violin virtuoso, and the first Black classical composer. He conducted Paris’s leading symphony orchestra and commanded the Legion St.-Georges, Europe’s first all-Black military regiment. During the French Revolution, he defended the Republic through both military service and cultural achievement.

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These are just a few examples. Additional historical figures include King Henry VIII’s Black trumpeter and many other notable people of color in medieval and Renaissance Europe. Black History is European history. Black History is world history. Black history is our history.