White man, never go away;
Tell me why need you?
Stay with your Wowski, stay;
Wowski will feed you.
Cold moons are now coming in;
Ah don’t go grieve me!
I’ll wrap you in leopard’s skin;
White man, don’t leave me.
The (future) King William IV is depicted lying in a hammock pitched in a
ship’s hold, adoringly embracing an African woman in a yellow dress. The
print responds to the news that William, having been sent to the British
West Indies by his father George III, had taken a black or Creole lover
'Wowksi' 1
and brought her back to Britain with him. Wowksi was an enslaved black
character in George Colman’s comic adaptation of the "Inkle and Yarico"
story, in which an unscrupulous British adventurer sells his Amerindian
paramour into slavery. Prince William’s dark complexioned (black) lover
was quickly abandoned once news of their relationship became public, and
the entire affair was then censored.
This story was hardly unprecedented. Dido Mansfield Belle was an adopted
mulatta in Lord Mansfield's household. As another example, John Stedman's
diary. Stedman points this out. 2
The first thing generally done by a European on his arrival in this
country is to provide himself with a mistress from among the blacks,
mulattoes, or mestees 3
. . . the price varies from £100 to £150 . . . many of these girls
read and write, and most of them are free.
Dr George Pinckard, 1796
When a European arrives he finds it necessary to provide himself with
a housekeeper or mistress – the children are sent back to England for
education.
Henry Bolinbroke, 1807
1
Stedman, John Gabriel; "Narrative of a Five Years Expedition against the
Revolted Negroes of Surinam", p. 43
wousky is perhaps "dusky" and refers
to a dark complexioned person (mulatto, Indian, black).
2
Ibid., p. 49
"Luxury and dissipation in this Country are carried to the extreme and in my
opinion must send Thousands to the Grave, the Men are generally a set of poor
wither'd mortals - as dry and sapless as a squeesed lemon - owing to their
intemperate way of living such as late hours - hard drinking - and particularly
their too frequent intercourse with the negro and mulatto female sex, to whom
they generally give the preference before the creole [Caucasian or mixed race
lighter complexioned] and many of whom really deserve that preference by their
remarkable Cleanliness and youthful vigour when compared to the fair Women of
this Colony - who are a poor languid generation with complexions not much better
than that of a drum Skin, a very few perfect beauties set aside - whose delicate
features - elegant shape - and graceful air - are certainly unexceptionable —
But all Things may be carried to excess and from this excess it is that I have
known many wives outlive 4 Husbands but never a Man wear out 2 wives - Is it then
to be wondered that the poor illtreated Ladies should be Jealous of their Spouses
and so bitterly take revenge on the causes of their disgrace - the negro and
Mulatto Girls whom they persecute with the greatess bitterness and most barbarous
tyranny Or is it to be wondered that the unmarried with so little reserve should
snap at any new comer from Europe; It certainly is not, and I myself have already
being persecuted by overgrown Widows, Stale Beauties, and overaged Maids till I
have lost my Temper on the occasion notwithstanding they were possessed of opulent
Fortunes Nay it was even publickly reported that two of them had fought a Duel
on account of one of our Officers."
.
The women (and men) in Jane Austen's novels behave the same way in England.
3
There were many names used to designate different "mixed race"
people, such as "mistee", "quadroon", "octoroon", "quintroon",
etc. Laws applied to these stratifications, such as those
allowed to attend a university, etc. Certificates ("los
estatutos de limpieza de sangre") could be purchased to prove
an Indian, Black, mixture, not Jewish, not Moslem, not Morisco,
was a White Christian, or a White member of nobility, etc.
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