When he was two years old Ignatius Sancho was given to a group of sisters who lived in Greenwich. The sisters didn't believe slaves should have an education but Ignatius taught himself to read and write.

John Montagu, the second Duke of Montagu, who had homes in Blackheath and Northamptonshire, was friends with the sisters who owned Ignatius. Unlike the sisters, the Duke took an interest in Ignatius' education and became his patron. In 1749, when he was 20, Ignatius ran away from the sisters and went to live with the Montagu family. The Duke had recently died, but his wife agreed to employ Ignatius as her butler.

When the Duchess died she left him a small legacy in her will. It was this money that allowed him to open a grocery shop in Westminster in 1773. His business was profitable and this allowed Ignatius Sancho to become the first person of African origins to vote in a British election in 1780. (In the 18th Century only men owning property of a certain amount could vote and Sancho's shop meant he was entitled to vote.)

In 1782, after his death, his letters were published and used by anti-slavery campaigners to support the theory 'an untutored African may possess abilities equal to a European.'

Why not visit Boughton House and find out what became of the Montagu family? www.boughtonhouse.org.uk