'The Black Prince of Baker Street' and the Black Presence in Britain, 1837–1849.

This article examines the activities of a man known as Louis Christophe, an impostor who between 1838 and 1849 claimed to be the brother of Henri Christophe, the deceased King of Haiti, and sought access to supposed funds deposited in the Bank of England. Through tracing Louis Christophe’s movements across London, the Caribbean, and Europe, the study sheds light on the Black presence in early Victorian Britain, revealing a socially diverse Black community that included entrepreneurs, lodging-house keepers, and political actors. Christophe’s case illustrates how notions of Black nobility and the legacy of the Haitian Revolution were mobilized and manipulated within British racial and philanthropic contexts, highlighting both the racial prejudices he faced and the paternalistic sympathies he exploited. The article also explores the roles of Black women in sustaining community networks and autonomy, and situates Christophe’s imposture within broader patterns of Black self-invention, resistance, and accommodation in the Black Atlantic during a period of shifting political and racial dynamics.