Sarah Forbes Bonetta Davis, a Yoruba girl from West Africa, was captured by the King of Dahomey, whose parents were killed in 1848 during the Slave Hunting War. Born into a West African dynasty, Sarah Forbes Bonetta Davies immigrated to England at the age of five and was given to Queen Victoria as a "gift" to the royal family.
A unique and respected figure in history, She spent her life between the British royal family and her native Africa.
In 1850, when she was about eight years old, she was rescued by a Royal Navy captain, Frederick E. Forbes, while visiting Dahomey as an envoy for the British government. Forbes convinced King Gezo of Dahomey to give Sarah to Queen Victoria. The girl was named Bonet along with the name Forbes.
She returned to England with Forbes, which she was introduced to Queen Victoria, who sent her to the Church Missionary Society for training. Sarah was ill and returned to Africa in 1851 to attend the Women's Institute in Freetown, Sierra Leone. When she was 12, Queen Victoria ordered Sarah to return to England, where she was cared for by the Seans in Chatham.
Queen Victoria was so impressed with the girl's innate royal attitude and her talent for studies, literature, art and music that she gave her the license to visit Windsor Castle regularly. Sarah's genius was admired in the palace, and in every study she continued to surpass her teachers with her cutting-edge skills.
At 18, James Pinson proposed to Sarah , a 31-year-old wealthy Yoruba businessman living in England. At first she turned down his offer, and it is said that in order to persuade her to accept the offer, Sarah was sent to live with two old ladies in Brighton.
Queen Victoria approved Sarah's marriage in August 1862 at St Nicholas' Church, Brighton. The wedding party, which arrived in 10 carriages and 2 grays at West Hill Lodge in Brighton, consisted of "a white woman with an African and an African with a white man". There were sixteen bridesmaids. The newlyweds return to West Africa and Sarah is baptized in the church of the village of Badagri, a former slave port. They settled in Lagos, where her husband was a member of the legislature from 1872 to 1874 (the same year the Lagos colony was temporarily annexed to the Gold Coast).
Shortly after her marriage, Sarah gave birth to a daughter, and with the permission of the queen, she named her Victoria. The Queen also became her godmothwas
Sarah returned to Lagos after visiting the Queen with her daughter in 1867, where they had two more children. Later, after Sarah's death, the Queen wrote in her diary: "This morning I saw poor Victoria Davis, the black goddaughter, who learned of the death of her beloved mother." Queen Victoria was so proud of Sarah's daughter that she took a day off after the teachers and children had passed their music exams. Sarah suffered from constant cough all her life due to climate change between Africa and England. In 1880, while battling tuberculosis, she traveled to Madeira on the West African coast to recuperate. she died in 1880 at the age of 40 and was buried in Funchal, Madeira.
her daughter Victoria received a pension from the Queen and lived all her life in the royal family. In her diary, Captain Forbes reports on a mission concerning Miss Bonetta. “Just adding a few details about my wonderful African Child gift. At the beginning of this journal, I mentioned the Battle of Oceandon. One of the captives of that terrible slave hunt was this charming girl.