Born on a slave ship in the Atlantic in 1729, Ignatius Sancho grew up enslaved to three sisters in the town of Greenwich, UK. Later bought by the Duke of Montague and taught to read and write, Sancho eventually gained his freedom and became a public intellectual, publishing many letters about abolishing slavery. He was the first black composer in history to have his music published, the first black person to vote in a British election, and the first black person to have an obituary in the newspaper.

"Old folks love to seem wise- and if you are silly enough to correspond with grey hairs, take the consequence."

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