Some contemporary commentators estimated the Black population at the height of the slave trade during the last quarter of the 18th century was 20,000 in London alone. However the latest estimates are much lower figures, between five and ten thousand across the whole country.

By the mid-19th century, however, the Black population had probably declined, although there were still sizeable communities in the major seaports, including London, Liverpool, Bristol, Cardiff and Glasgow.

These seaports accommodated diverse populations of Indians, Chinese, West and East Africans, Arabs and West Indians, and they provided a significant proportion of the manpower for the maritime trade which was essential to Britain's industrial growth. Many of the Black population lived in poverty and, as a result, Parliament established a committee in 1910 to enquire into the circumstances of Distressed Colonial and Indian Subjects.

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