Sarah Forbes Bonetta: The African slave girl who became Queen Victoria’s protégé
Sarah Forbes Bonetta (originally named Aina, 1843 – 15 August 1880) was a Yoruba princess from present-day Nigeria who became a ward of Queen Victoria of England in the 19th century.
Aina was born in 1843 (in what is now Southwest Nigeria). She was believed to have been a titled member of the Egbado clan of the Yoruba people in West Africa.
Enslavement
Aina was captured by King Ghezo of Dahomey during a slave raid and was given to British Captain Frederick Forbes as a “gift” to Queen Victoria.
After her capture, she was renamed Sarah Forbes Bonetta (after Captain Forbes and his ship, HMS Bonetta).
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Life Story
As a child, Aina’s village was attacked by the Dahomey army. Her parents were killed, and she was taken captive.
In 1850, she was given to Captain Forbes, who saw her intelligence and potential. He took her to England, where she was presented to Queen Victoria.
The Queen was deeply impressed by her intellect and took a special interest in her, funding her education and treating her as a goddaughter.
Queen Victoria requested that Sarah have her photo taken, Sarah was taken to the English-based studio of American photographer John J. Mayall.
Sarah was afraid of the photographer because she had no idea what he intended. When she noticed a portrait of a man with a sword hanging on the wall, her fear turned into panic. She yelled, “Cut head off!” as she quickly ran her hand down her narrow throat. “Cut head off!” Sarah knew from her years in captivity that swords were meant for head cuts.
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It was necessary to reassure the trembling girl that the man brandishing the sword was not real and would not hurt her.
Sarah lived between England and Sierra Leone for her education and health.
In 1862, she married a wealthy Yoruba businessman, Captain James Pinson Labulo Davies, in a lavish ceremony attended by British elites.
Legacy
Sarah Forbes Bonetta died of tuberculosis on 15 August 1880 in the city of Funchal, the capital of Madeira Island, a Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean.
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In her memory, her husband erected an over-eight-foot granite obelisk-shaped monument at Ijon in Western Lagos, where he had started a cocoa farm.
Aina is seen as a symbol of African royalty. Her story depicts the complex ties between colonialism and imperialism.
The experience of being caught between two worlds—African heritage and Victorian expectations. Her descendants continued to have ties to British society.
There are several paintings and photos of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, rare for a Black woman in Victorian England, which add to her historical significance.
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