Women in History

Dido Elizabeth Belle

Dido Elizabeth Belle was born in the British West Indies around 1761. Her father, John Lindsay, was a British nobleman and navy captain and her mother, Maria Belle, was an African slave woman that John is said to have found on a Spanish ship, in the Caribbean; little else is known about her. Her parents never married. Dido was named after her mother, her great-uncle's first wife, Elizabeth and the queen of Carthage, Dido. Dido was the name of a popular 18th century play, William Murray, a descendent of Dido's great-uncle later said, "It was probably chosen to suggest her elevated status," he added. "It says: 'This girl is precious, treat her with respect.". 

At the age of 6, Dido parted ways with her mother and was sent to live with her great-uncle, William Murray, Earl of Mansfield and his wife in England. The couple had no children and was already raising another great-niece, Elizabeth Murray, whose mother had died. It isn't known how Dido felt about the separation from her mother, but the split allowed Dido, a child of mixed-race to be raised an aristocrat, rather than a slave. Dido grew up at Kenwood, a royal estate outside of London. She even served as the earl's legal secretary, which was an unusual responsibility for a woman at the time. Misan Sagay, who wrote the screenplay for the 2013 film, Belle, said the earl treated Dido nearly equal to her fully European cousin. They bought her the same luxurious items that they did for Elizabeth, "Quite often if they were buying say silk bed hangings, they were buying for two", Sagay goes on to say. She believes that the earl and Dido were very close, as he wrote about her with great affection in his journals. 

Scottish philosopher, John Beattie, noted her intelligence, describing Dido as "a negro girl about ten years old, who had been six years in England, and not only spoke with the articulation and accent of a native, but repeated some pieces of poetry, with a degree of elegance, which would have been admired in any English child of her years."

A 1779 painting of Dido and her cousin, Elizabeth, which now hangs in Scone Palace, in Scotland; shows that Dido's skin color didn't result in inferior status at Kenwood. In the painting, both her and her cousin are dressed in finery. Dido is also not portrayed in a submissive pose, as blacks were typically during that time period. This portrait by Scottish painter, David Martin-- is largely responsible for generating public interest in Dido over the centuries. Dido is also said to have influenced her uncle, who served as Lord Chief Justice, to make legal amendments, that led to the abolishment of slavery in Britain.

The only indication that shows Dido's skin color did result in different treatment at Kenwood, is that she was forbidden, to take part in formal dinners with her family. Instead, she had to join them after such meals were over. Although she was slighted during mealtimes, William Murray, cared for her deeply and wanted her to have autonomy after his death. He left her a large inheritance, when he died at the age of 88, in 1793.

After her great uncle's death, Dido married the Frenchman, John Davinier. The couple had three sons together. She died just 7 years after great-uncle's death, aged only 43.  Dido was buried in the cemetery at St. George's Fields, Westminster. Much of Dido's unconventional life remains a mystery. The David Martin painting inspired the aforementioned 2013 film, Belle, a speculative work about the aristocrat's unique life. Other works about Dido include plays, Let Justice Be Done & African Cargo and novels, Family Likeness & Belle: The True Story of Dido Belle.

Side notes:

West Indies- a region of the North Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean that includes the island countries and surrounding waters of three major archipelagos: Greater & Lesser Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago.

https://www.thoughtco.com/dido-elizabeth-belle-biography-2834910