Baptism record at Manchester Cathedral offers insight into Black Mancunian life in Georgian-era England

The baptism record of Indiana Mundi show why abolitionism could gain momentum. Photograph: Cinematic/Alamy View image in fullscreen The baptism record of Indiana Mundi show why abolitionism could gain momentum. Photograph: Cinematic/Alamy Baptism record at Manchester Cathedral offers insight into Black Mancunian life in Georgian-era England A parish entry reveals an argument that proved pivotal to the abolitionist cause, at a time when an estimated 20,000 Black people were living in the country When the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson gave a sermon in 1787 at Manchester Cathedral – during the city’s first mass meeting against the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans – he saw a “great crowd of black people standing round the pulpit”. However, little is known about Black Mancunians in the Georgian era, which makes one recently rediscovered entry in parish records at Manchester Cathedral particularly significant. The handwritten entry offers a glimpse into the life of an enslaved African teenager who lived in the city in the 18th century, when it is estimated there were up to 20,000 Black people living in England. Dating back to 26 December 1798, the entry says: “Indiana Mundi, aged 14. A negro girl from Congo on the coast of Africa, disposed of to Mr Paton at St Kitts & transferred from him to Arch.d Paton MD baptised this day.” View image in fullscreen The baptism record of Indiana Mundi, a 14-year-old who was christened at Manchester Cathedral in 1798. Illustration: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian It is now expected that Indiana – and others enslaved in Manchester – will finally be honoured with a memorial at the cathedral, supported by Heritage Lottery funding. It will be unveiled on Clarkson Day, the cathedral’s annual 28 October event to confront the legacies of slavery. Though the existence of Indiana’s unusually detailed baptism notice had been noted in earlier research, cathedral research officer Cathy Hirst recently rediscovered the original entry by chance while working through 18th-century ledgers. Other records reveal that Archibald Paton, the man who brought Indiana to Manchester, was a Liverpool doctor who had married Sarah Burton at the cathedral just a year earlier, in November 1797. Indiana is thought to have been a servant in the Patons’ household at a time when Black servants were a status symbol. “Exotic” names were also fashionable – Mundi, meaning “of the world” in Latin, is likely to have been chosen by the Patons. Malik Al Nasir , a Cambridge University academic and author of Searching For My Slave Roots, explained that British people returning from Britain’s colonies brought enslaved people with them to work as house servants, footmen, farm workers or pages. Girls were “prized”, but were vulnerable to sexual exploitation. While we know little of Indiana’s experience, “a baptism would indicate somebody’s formed an attachment and just wanted to bring them into their family”, Al Nasir added. At the time of Indiana’s arrival,