Henry Cort and the ‘Black metallurgists’: on the accuracy of Bulstrode’s historical account

Abstract

The editors of History and Technology have declared their ‘unreserved support’ for Jenny Bulstrode’s claim that eighteenth-century ironmaster Henry Cort stole his revolutionary iron-rolling process from enslaved ‘Black metallurgists’. This paper critically examines their defence of her theory, with a particular focus on connections between sugar and iron production that are presented by Bulstrode as an essential catalyst for the supposed development of the process in Jamaica. By exploring in depth the historical context, technological details, and primary sources relating to Bulstrode’s claim, this study demonstrates that her account remains both inaccurate and fundamentally implausible.