Extract from a Letter by 5th Countess of Harewood to her children, 1893

An extract from a letter the 5th Countess of Harewood wrote in 1893 to her children while she and the Earl were visiting their estates in the West Indies. The extract reads; ..." I went down to the market on Saturday. It was such a funny sight, all these black people dressed up so smart, and they do chatter so. They always talk English, but it’s very funny English."

The language that the Countess uses to describe the local population is fraught with racial prejudice and gives us an insight into her views and attitudes towards Black people at the time.

It was on this trip that the Earl and Countess met Bertie Robinson.