140dac61   
   XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien, alt.fan.tolkien   
   From: hayesstw@telkomsa.net   
      
   On Tue, 7 Dec 2010 06:03:28 -0800 (PST), derek  wrote:   
      
   >On Dec 7, 6:48 am, JJ  wrote:   
      
   >> Where did the 'Negroes' come from in Elizabeth I's time? There was no   
   >> Empire, no English presence in either Africa or the West Indies.   
   >   
   >While I agree with you that there was no significant non-white   
   >presence in England until the 60s (I was born in London in '58 and   
   >never knew anybody who was non-white), Elizabeth I chartered the East   
   >India Company in 1600, granting a monopoly of all trade east of the   
   >Cape of Good Hope, so the East African presence dates back to her   
   >time.   
   >   
   >Here's an interesting link showing a few "Black Moors" in Scotland   
   >much earlier: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/black   
   istory/early_times/moors.htm   
   >It's clear that while they were there, they were very much   
   >curiosities.   
      
   But I bet a hobbit, of ANY colour, would have been even more of a curiosity.   
      
      
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