Black in Period Films

In the last season of hit television series Poldark, we will meet the first black character Catherine Despard. After some research I found that Catherine/Catharine Despard is in fact a historical figure. Could the lovely Kerri McLean be playing this oft forgotten historical figure? Source: @ kerri_mclean_creates on instagram Who Is Catherine Despard? Historians do not know Catherine’s exact background. Many accounts have her listed as the daughter of a Jamaican preacher, while others say her father was an educated Spanish creole. If her last name Despard sounds familiar that’s because you most likely have heard of her infamous husband, Colonel Edward Marcus Despard. He is best known for his involvement in the failed Despard Plot of 1802. He had a promising career and was made Superintendent of the Bay of Honduras (nka: Belize). In 1790 he had married a young black woman. Catharine. After marrying her, he vowed to give the same rights to freed slaves as to white settlers. ...