What can the murder of Africanus Maxwell reveal to us about the times he lived in?
First of all, Africanus Maxwell was not his real name. His first name was Marmadee Alla Sang. And that is the name we shall call him.
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Marmadee Alla Sang's life ended on the shore of North Tyneside. He had been murdered. He was a sailor in the Royal Navy. While his death was extremely important we want to concentrate on Sang's life.
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His life reveals to us so much about the times he lived in, not just his final moments.
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Project North Star is indebted to the work of John Ellis on compiling the sources on Sang and his death. His advice on this has been so very useful.
Mr Ellis’ work on this can be found here.
Ariel View of Gorree Island

Senegal
Martin

Marmadee Alla Sang was born around 1800 in Gorree Island, off the coast of modern day Senegal. At this time this was a large prison of enslaved people, where they were taken after kidnap and held until they were sold.
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Sang taken prisoner first by the Spanish when he was 3 or 4 years old. Their ship was attacked by the British to took all the enslaved people for themselves. Sang was sold to a British sailor.
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Sang had his name changed by his enslavers to 'Africanus' and then 'Maxwell', the surname of his enslaver.
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After Maxwell died, Sang joined the British Royal Navy. He served on The Orestes.
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Photograph of present day North Shields Union Quay.

Island of Gorree. © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
13th July 1831
In the early hours of the morning, Sang approached a police constable and asked him to deal with two other sailors, George Mallet and William Craggs. Sang had blood on his face. The police constable did not arrest anyone and some time later in mysterious circumstances Sang had been killed. A witness says she saw him being tipped over the edge of the quay by Craggs onto the beach below. (The tide was out). He died some time later on board the Orestes. He was buried in Christ Church in Tynemouth. A trial in March 1932 acquitted (found not guilty) the two sailors.
Over to You!
History Detective challenge
Sang's death leaves many questions. It also illuminates this time - a violent time where even the Royal Navy was brought on to deal with unrest in the nation.
1832 Reform Act
Research:
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Why was the Reform Act needed?
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Where were the disturbances before the act was passed?
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Who passed the act and how does this link to our region?
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What did the act achieve?
Grab a world map
Research and map out the places where Sang may have visited when serving on The Orestes. Use this site to help.