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Black Convicts

How slavery shaped Australia

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Black Convicts

By: Santilla Chingaipe
Narrated by: Santilla Chingaipe, Stani Goma
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About this listen

 Shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize
Readings Best Books of 2024, Non-Fiction

The story of Australia’s Black convicts has been all but erased from our history. In recovering their lives, Santilla Chingaipe offers a fresh understanding of this fatal shore, showing how empire, slavery, race and memory have shaped our nation.

'The defining read of the decade. This is a work of global significance.' Meanjin

On the First Fleet of 1788, at least 15 convicts were of African descent. By 1840 the number had risen to almost 500. Among them were David Stuurman, a revered South African chief transported for anti-colonial insurrection; John Caesar, who became Australia’s first bushranger; Billy Blue, the stylishly dressed ferryman who gave his name to Sydney’s Blues Point; and William Cuffay, a prominent London Chartist who led the development of Australia’s labour movement. Two of the youngest were cousins from Mauritius—girls aged just 9 and 12—sentenced over a failed attempt to poison their mistress.

But although some of these lives were documented and their likenesses hang in places like the National Portrait Gallery, even their descendants are often unaware of their existence.

By uncovering lives whitewashed out of our history, in stories spanning Africa, the Americas and Europe, Black Convicts also traces Australia’s hidden links to slavery, which both powered the British Empire and inspired the convict system itself. Situating European settlement in its global context, Chingaipe shows that the injustice of dispossession was driven by the engine of labour exploitation. Black Convicts will change the way we think about who we are. Australia, New Zealand & Oceania Africa Imperialism British Empire

Critic Reviews

‘Chingaipe brings a fresh and urgent perspective to bear on Australian history, re-telling many stirring, surprising, captivating moments of encounter or Black experience.’
'a work of global significance.’
All stars
Most relevant
A well researched and thought out exploration of Black African history in Australia. A guide and lesson for us all

Everybody should read this!

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This book is the first of its kind- Santilla Chingaipe has done an amazing job at researching and putting together this book in a way that is easy to access, well informed and rewriting the white washed colonial history of ‘Australia’

A very important book anyone living in so called ‘Australia’ should read

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There were a number of elements of the narration which I found unnecessarily distracting and wholly annoying. That aside, this book offers an excellent introduction to black African convicts in Australia. As a decendant of two of these fellows, I already had some idea about black convicts, but this book takes it to a whole new level. Recommended reading.

A good start

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A really interesting and detailed look at the history of non-white convicts and their journeys to and lives in Australia. Certainly an awakening on the horrible rulings and practices of the time. Santilla covers the lives of numerous convicts originating from many parts of the globe. Connections to slavery are covered in detail as well as the effects on children and families. Well worth reading.

Enlightening.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.