Julius Soubise
Encyclopedia
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
slave who became a well-known fop
Fop
Fop became a pejorative term for a foolish man over-concerned with his appearance and clothes in 17th century England. Some of the very many similar alternative terms are: "coxcomb", fribble, "popinjay" , fashion-monger, and "ninny"...
in 1760s/1770s Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
. He was one of the most prominent black persons in Britain at the time.
He was born on St. Kitts in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, the son of a Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n slave. He was bought by Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Captain Stair Douglas and taken to England at the age of ten. In 1764, he was given to Catherine Douglas (née Hyde), Duchess of Queensbury who was a celebrated eccentric
Eccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
and beauty. The Duchess gave Soubise a privileged life, treating him as if he were her own son - apparently with her husband Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry
Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry
Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry, 2nd Duke of Dover, PC was a Scottish nobleman.The son of James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, 1st Duke of Dover, and Mary Boyle, daughter of Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan, was a Privy Counsellor and Vice Admiral of Scotland.He took up the cause...
's blessing.
Trained by Domenico Angelo
Domenico Angelo
Domenico Angelo , fencing master, was born in Leghorn, Italy, as Angelo Domenico Malevolti Tremamondo.According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Angelo was the first to emphasize fencing as a means of developing health, poise, and grace...
(whom Soubise also regularly accompanied as usher to Eton
Eton, Berkshire
Eton is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The parish also includes the large village of Eton Wick, 2 miles west of the town, and has a population of 4,980. Eton was in Buckinghamshire until...
and Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
), Soubise became the riding
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
and fencing master to the Duchess.. He became popular amongst young noblemen and he rose as a figure in upper class social circles, becoming the member of many fashionable clubs. He was known as an amateur violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist, singer and actor - he was taught oration by the famous actor David Garrick
David Garrick
David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
who befriended a number of black people. The personal favour and patronage of the Duchess allowed him a lifestyle of womanizing and fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
. He would sometimes call himself "The Black Prince" and claim to be African royalty
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
. It was rumoured that Soubise and the Duchess' relationship developed into a sexual
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
one.
Soubise became socially prominent enough to be the likely or definite subject of several caricatures - William Austin
William Austin (caricaturist)
William Austin was an English artist, drawing-master, engraver and caricaturist. A rival of Matthew Darly, he used a distinctive grainy, woodblock-like style.-Life and work:Austin, was born in London in 1721...
's well-known satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
, The Duchess of Queensbury and Soubise (published 1 May 1773, showing them engaged in a fencing match) ; and most notably, A Mungo Macaroni (published 10 September 1772), part of a famous 1771-73 satirical series of engravings depicting fashionable young men published by Matthew and Mary Darly. ("macaroni" was a contemporary name for a fashionable young man; "Mungo" was a name of an officious slave from the 1769 comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
The Padlock
The Padlock
The Padlock is a two-act 'afterpiece' opera by Charles Dibdin. The text was by Isaac Bickerstaffe. It debuted in 1768 at the Drury Lane Theatre in London, England, as a companion piece to The Earl of Warwick. It partnered other plays before a run of six performances in tandem with "The Fatal...
by Isaac Bickerstaffe
Isaac Bickerstaffe
Isaac Bickerstaffe or Bickerstaff was an Irish playwright and Librettist.-Early life:Isaac John Bickerstaff was born in Dublin, on 26 September 1733, where his father John Bickerstaff held a government position overseeing the construction and management of sports fields including bowls and tennis...
; the Darly engraving was based on a caricature drawn by Henry Angelo).
In the collected letters of the famous freed slave Ignatius Sancho
Ignatius Sancho
Ignatius Sancho was a composer, actor, and writer. He is the first known Black Briton to vote in a British election. He gained fame in his time as "the extraordinary Negro", and to 18th century British abolitionists he became a symbol of the humanity of Africans and immorality of the slave trade...
, Letter XIIII dated 11 October 1771 is addressed to Soubise, whom Sancho encourages to consider his lucky position as an unusually privileged black person and so live a more seemly life.
However, on the 15th of July 1777, Soubise fled Britain for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
The Duchess died two days after his departure.In India, he founded a riding school in Calcutta, Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
. Soubise died on August 25 1798 from injuries sustained from falling off a horse.