Dido Elizabeth Belle Historical Accuracy

As said by Tony, it is important to understand the historical accuracy of events, whether they are truth or ‘historical drama’. This is the same with movies. Often when movies are produced, they are done so with the intention to present history in an entertaining way, and this leads to inaccuracies. This is shown in the movie Belle. Belle is a movie produced in 2013, based on Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lord Mansfield in the 18th and 19th Century. Belle is based lightly on a true story, this comes from the fact that there was little information about Dido and much detail comes from the accounts of the Kenwood House and the diary entries made by Thomas Hutchinson, who was a guest in 1789. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the historical accuracy …show more content…
The movie shows glimpses of pamphlets which would have been used in the 18th Century. The abolition of slavery, even though little presented in the movie, was rife during the 18th century and William Wilberforce was a prominent person in the campaigns. William was the MP for the Hull and was one of the founding members of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1787. He led the cause of abolition through the parliamentary campaign and that campaign worked towards abolishment the slave trade in the British Empire, which later the Slave Trade Act 1807 was enacted. Under the terms of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act (1807) British captains who were caught continuing the trade were fined £100, 155 dollars Australia nowadays, for every slave found on board. However, this law did not stop the British slave trade. He continued to campaign for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. Wilberforce disagreed with the statement that the only way to end the suffering of the slaves was to make slavery illegal, he pointed out in a pamphlet that he wrote in 1807 that: "It would be wrong to emancipate the slaves. To grant freedom to them immediately, would be to insure not only their masters' ruin, but their own. They must first be trained and educated for freedom." None of this is presented in the movie, even though it was presenting itself at the time. The use of Davinier could have been exchanged for William Wilberforce which would have made a bolder statement in the abolition of slavery campaign. In the film, Dido is seen to helping the anti-slavers get information about the Zong so that it can be presented against Lords Mansfield. A key person who is portrayed as an anti-slavery and who is against Lord Mansfield is John Davinier. Davinier is depicted as English, the son of a vicar