12. As a Young Girl, Belle Was Brought to London by Her Father to Live With His Relatives
No one is sure why Belle was sent to live with Lord Mansfield and his wife. What we do know is that when Belle was brought to London by her father, about the age of four, she was considered a slave. Because Belle’s mother was a slave when Belle was born, this meant Belle was born into slavery. Some people speculate Belle was brought to England because she would not be sold and would live a better life with the Murray’s. Even if she was still considered a slave at Lord Mansfield’s home, she was treated like family.
Others believe Lord Mansfield took Belle in because he was also an outsider and she was family. Whatever the reason, we know around 1765, Lindsay boarded a ship to England and brought Belle with him. While we are unaware of how this went down, we do know Lindsay planned to leave Belle with William Murray, who was the 1st Earl of Mansfield. This title actually meant that taking in Belle was not an easy task for Mr. and Mrs. Murray. In fact, it made many people scoff at Lord Mansfield. But, even so, Lord Mansfield and his wife took Belle in and loved her as their own.