It is a common misconception that Britain's Black community began with the arrival of West Indian settlers at the end of the second world war. When taking a closer look at the history books we see that Africans and their descendants have been living in Britain for much, much longer.  Unfortunately at this time the subject is far too broad to deliver fully within these pages. However we have included a brief chronology of Black British History and a compilation of some of the most influential Black people to live in Britain before the Twentieth Century.