Current:Home > StocksHenry Cort stole his iron innovation from Black metallurgists in Jamaica-InfoLens
Henry Cort stole his iron innovation from Black metallurgists in Jamaica
View Date:2024-12-23 11:38:17
The British Industrial Revolution is marked by economic and societal shifts toward manufacturing — away from largely agrarian life. Many technological advances powered this change.
One of the most significant innovations was called the Cort process, named after patent holder Henry Cort. The process takes low quality iron ore and transforms it from brittle, crumbly pieces into much stronger wrought iron bars. The transformation is cheap, allows for mass production and made Britain the leading iron exporter at the time.
But after analyzing historical documents, Jenny Bulstrode, a historian at University College London (UCL), found that the process was not actually created by Cort.
"It's theft, in fact," says Bulstrode.
Uncovering a theft
Bulstrode's findings were published in the journal History and Technology in June. In the paper, she notes 18th century documents suggesting that Henry Cort, an English banker, stole the technique from 76 Black enslaved metallurgists in Jamaica.
Cort learned about the metallurgists from his cousin, a merchant who often shipped goods between Jamaica and England. The workers were enslaved metalworkers in a foundry outside of Morant Bay, Jamaica. Bulstrode discovered historical documents listing some of the enslaved workers' names, including Devonshire, Mingo, Mingo's son, Friday, Captain Jack, Matt, George, Jemmy, Jackson, Will, Bob, Guy, Kofi (Cuffee) and Kwasi (Quashie).
"These are people who are very sophisticated in their science of metalworking. And they do something different with it than what the Europeans have been doing because the Europeans are kind of constrained by their own conventions," Bulstrode says.
Rewriting a Jamaican legacy
The realization that the Cort process originated from enslaved African Jamaicans rather than a British merchant provokes contrasting reactions among academic historians and many in the general public.
"You have historians who are very vocal who have said, 'You know, this isn't new. We as historians are fully aware that enslaved Africans have been innovating, have been developing and have produced an amazing ... industrial complex,'" says Sheray Warmington, a researcher at The University of the West Indies.
Warmington specializes in development and reparations in post-colonial states. But she says that growing up in Jamaica, she and many others had never heard this history.
For Warmington and Bulstrode alike, this truth is a reminder that Black people are frequently underacknowledged for their accomplishments. They also hope it will spark conversations about how history and innovations in science and technology are taught in school.
Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
What science story do you want to hear next on Short Wave? Email us at [email protected].
This episode was produced by Carly Rubin and Berly McCoy, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact checked by Brit Hanson. Robert Rodriguez was the audio engineer.
veryGood! (65117)
Related
- Biden funded new factories and infrastructure projects, but Trump might get to cut the ribbons
- Stock market today: Asian shares mostly fall after Wall Street drop
- Emmy Awards get record low ratings with audience of 4.3 million people
- Cicadas are back in 2024: Millions from 2 broods will emerge in multiple states
- Massive dust storm reduces visibility, causes vehicle pileup on central California highway
- Virginia Senate Democrats postpone work on constitutional amendments and kill GOP voting bills
- Police search for 6 people tied to online cult who vanished in Missouri last year
- The Supreme Court declines to step into the fight over bathrooms for transgender students
- Biden, Harris participate in Veterans Day ceremony | The Excerpt
- The JetBlue-Spirit Airlines merger was blocked by a federal judge. Here’s what you need to know
Ranking
- Crews battle 'rapid spread' conditions against Jennings Creek fire in Northeast
- Ellen Pompeo's Teen Daughter Stella Luna Is All Grown Up in Emmys Twinning Moment
- All hail the Chicago 'Rat Hole': People leave offerings at viral rat-shaped cement imprint
- Integration of EIF Tokens with Education
- Early Black Friday Deals: 70% Off Apple, Dyson, Tarte, Barefoot Dreams, Le Creuset & More + Free Shipping
- It's respiratory virus season. Here's what to know about the winter 'tripledemic'
- How watermelon imagery, a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians, spread around the planet
- JetBlue’s $3.8 billion buyout of Spirit Airlines is blocked by judge citing threat to competition
Recommendation
-
Isiah Pacheco injury updates: When will Chiefs RB return?
-
Supreme Court could reel in power of federal agencies with dual fights over fishing rule
-
Sudan suspends ties with east African bloc for inviting paramilitary leader to summit
-
U.S. says Houthi missiles fired at cargo ship, U.S. warship in Red Sea amid strikes against Iran-backed rebels
-
‘Heretic’ and Hugh Grant debut with $11 million, but ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ tops box office again
-
Top Federal Reserve official says inflation fight seems nearly won, with rate cuts coming
-
Some New Hampshire residents want better answers from the 2024 candidates on the opioid crisis
-
4 men found dead at Southern California desert home