A full understanding of Black and Asian history within the British context is integral to achieving a truly multicultural Britain. In this landmark book, Ron Ramdin offer the first complete history of both the Black and Asian experience in Britain Blacks and Asians have a long history in the British Isles. Ramdin illustrates this by covering a 500-year period, from 1500 to the present day. He recounts the major historical episodes and covers all the major figures, including Ottobah Cugoano, William Cuffay, William Davidson, George Padmore, Mary Seacole, C.L.R. James, V.S. Naipaul, Sam Selvon, Walter Tull, Shirley Bassey, Bill Morris, Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureshi and Bernie Grant. In bringing the largely hidden histories of these immigrant communities to the fore, Ron Ramdin’s wide-ranging study challenges conventional histories of the British Isles. Reimaging Britain will lead to a reappraisal of how ‘British’ history is written in the future. '500 years of Black and Asian History is a thorough history..It recounts the major historical episodes, and includes material on all the main figures, from Olaudah Equiano to Salman Rushdie.' Commission for Racial Equality 'Very informing and interesting to read. It enabled me to gain further insight into the difficulties black and Asian people experienced in this country and their own country of origin over a 500-year period'. RACE: Multi-Cultural Journal '...a comprehensive historical overview.' International Review of Social History.Includes bibliographical references and index.