George John Scipio Africanus was born around 1763 in a village in Sierra Leone, and was enslaved as a small child before being brought to England in 1766, presented as a 'present' to the wealthy Molineux family of Wolverhampton, who gave him his name and raised him within their household.
The Molineux family educated Africanus and apprenticed him as a brass founder, giving him a trade before he moved independently to St Peter's Parish, Nottingham, at around 21 years old, in search of his own future.
In Nottingham, Africanus met local woman Esther Shaw, and the couple married at St Peter's Church on 3 August 1788; around 1793 they founded Africanus' Register of Servants, believed to be one of the first employment agencies in the city, operating from their home on what became Victoria Street.
As a property-owning freeholder, Africanus gained the right to vote, and he also served as a special constable with Nottingham's 'Watch and Ward', helping prevent civil disturbances in the city he had made his home.
Africanus lived to see the passage of the Abolition of Slavery Act in 1833, dying less than a year later in 1834; his wife Esther continued running their employment agency for decades afterward, and the business remained in the family for over 70 years.
- Founded Africanus' Register of Servants, one of Nottingham's first employment agencies
- Ran the family business for over 70 years alongside his wife Esther
- Became a property-owning freeholder with the right to vote
- Served as a special constable with Nottingham's Watch and Ward
- Commemorated with a Nottingham tram named in his honour
- A trade learned in captivity can become the foundation of independence. Africanus's apprenticeship as a brass founder, arranged by the family that had enslaved him, gave him the skills to build his own life.
- Family businesses can outlast their founders by generations. The employment agency Africanus and Esther founded together continued operating for more than 70 years.