June 30 *The birth of Ignatius Sancho in 1729 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black writer. He was born on a slave ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean from the West African nation of
Guinea. After the ship reached the Caribbean
port of
Cartagena, in what is now
Colombia, his mother died and his father committed suicide.
As a baby he was baptized “Ignatius.” After several years, Sancho was taken to
Greenwich, England, where he was given to three unmarried women. They gave him the surname “Sancho” because he reminded them of the squire in Don Quixote. He later ran away and became butler to the Duchess of Montagu. Sancho later ran a grocery shop in
Westminster. Self educated, he composed music, appeared on the stage, and wrote numerous letters, published in 1782, after his death. Ignatius Sancho died in 1780. Reference: Joseph Jekyll’s Life of Ignatius Sancho
Guadeloupe Attitude 