History Main / BlackVikings

* inverted with Francis X. Bushlad and his tribe in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tazmania}}'', who are, inexplicably, white Indigenous Australians.

* Francis X. Bushlad and his tribe in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tazmania}}'' are, inexplicably, white Indigenous Australians.

** There are Vikings of all different races because Everworld's {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s have a vastly different geography from our world, so that Everworld-Vikings regularly raid Everworld-Aztecs, Everworld-Africans, and apparently Everworld-Asians; this results in many new people entering the Viking society as slaves (who may gain freedom and work their way up) or from mixed marriages between Vikings and captured women. Their king, Olaf Ironfoot, is actually black.

** ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'' has subjected the Velaryon family (who, as pure-blooded Valyrians, basically look the same as the Tagaryens in the source material) to a RaceLift, making them black, although still of Valyrian descent and sharing the white hair of their Targaryen cousins. Unlike aforementioned adaptations, however, this departure from the books is generally restricted to them; and the effects of intermarrying become an even more obvious plot point in the show than in the books (with the pallid skin tone of Rhaenyra Targaryen's first three children making it even clearer that they weren't fathered by her husband Laenor Velaryon).

** ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'' has subjected the Velaryon family (who as pure-blooded Valyrians basically look like the Tagaryens in the source material) to a RaceLift, making them black. Unlike aforementioned adaptations however, this departure from the books is generally restricted to them; and the effects of intermarrying become an even more obvious plot point in the show (with Rhaenyra's first children looking even less like Laenor's).

** ''Series/TheWitcher2019'' takes place on a fantastic AlternateUniverse Earth whose human peoples were displaced there from our own by the Conjunction of the Spheres. RaceLift is enacted many, many times, seemingly at random, when in the source material nearly every character looked Northern European, resulting in rustic pseudo Polish villages being half populated by black or Asian people. Given how humanity arrived on the planet originally, it'd actually be semi-justified for the populations to not correspond to geography, but what makes it count for this trope is how this is done: all of the populations are inexplicably mixed. Every single village, town, and city in every single country has demographics roughly in line with a modern American or British city. Despite the Conjunction of the Spheres having taken place over a thousand years prior, every country not only maintains visible racial minorities who are not acknowledged as such, but they all seem to have the exact same mix as every other country - including, somehow, the elves and dwarves.

** ''Series/TheWitcher2019'' takes place on a fantastic AlternateUniverse Earth whose human peoples were displaced there from our own by the Conjunction of the Spheres. RaceLift is enacted many, many times, seemingly at random, when in the source material nearly every character looked Northern European, resulting in rustic pseudo Polish villages being half populated by black or Asian people. Given how humanity arrived on the planet originally, it'd actually be semi-justified for the populations to not correspond to geography, but what makes it count for this trope is how this is done: all of the populations are inexplicably mixed. Every single village, town, and city in every single country has demographics roughly in line with a modern American or British city. Despite the Conjugation of the Spheres having taken place over a thousand years prior, every country not only maintains visible racial minorities who are not acknowledged as such, but they all seem to have the exact same mix as every other country - including, somehow, the elves and dwarves.

** ''Series/TheWitcher2019'' takes place on a fantastic AlternateUniverse Earth whose human peoples were displaced there from our own by the Conjunction of the Spheres. RaceLift is enacted many, many times, seemingly at random, when in the source material nearly every character looked Northern European, resulting in rustic pseudo Polish villages being half populated by black or Asian people. Given how humanity arrived on the planet originally, it'd actually be semi-justified for the populations to not correspond to geography, but what makes it count for this trope is how this is done: all of the populations are inexplicably mixed. Every single village, town, and city in every single country has demographics roughly in line with a modern American or British city. Despite the Conjugation of the Spheres having taken place over a thousand years prior every country not only maintains visible racial minorities who are not acknowledged as such, but they all seem to have the exact same mix as every other country - including, somehow, the elves and dwarves.

** ''Series/TheWitcher2019'' takes place on an AlternateEarth whose peoples came from the original. RaceLift is enacted many, many times, seemingly at random, when in the source material nearly every character looked Northern European, resulting in rustic pseudo Polish villages being half populated by black or Asian people. Given how humanity arrived on the planet originally, it'd actually be semi-justified for the populations to not correspond to geography, but what makes it count for this trope is how this is done: all of the populations are inexplicably mixed. Every single village, town, and city in every single country has demographics roughly in line with a modern American or British city. Despite the Conjugation of the Spheres having taken place over a thousand years prior every country not only maintains visible racial minorities who are not acknowledged as such, but they all seem to have the exact same mix as every other country - including, somehow, the elves and dwarves.

* Like ''The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog'', the short-lived ''{{Series/Roar}}'', which starred Heath Ledger, is also set in pre-Christian Ireland and still features a black character named Tully amongst Ledger's band of Celtic chieftains. Unlike in 'The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog'', there's no justification given.

* ''Series/Merlin2008'': Guinevere, her father, brother and Sir Pellinore are all black. However, they also have dragons and fey. It's also not so much of a stretch as people think, as there is evidence of some black people in medieval England. Of course, none were knights or queens that we know of.

Depending on the time and place, this can actually be [[AluminumChristmasTrees surprisingly realistic]], due to environments like trade cities and ports being conducive to ethnic mash-ups. For instance, Egypt, while having an ethnically distinct population of its own, has been a trade hub, tourist destination, and cultural melting pot for millenia. It's also important to note that "race" as it is seen today is largely a modern construct only appearing in the past few centuries.

This trope can have a [[UnfortunateImplications touchy relationship]] with tropes like PlaysGreatEthnics; for instance, it's not uncommon (especially in US productions) to cast black actors to portray North African peoples such as the Berbers[[note]]Thanks in part to the long history of Mediterranean trade and the travel barrier of the Sahara desert, North African populations are ethnically and culturally distinct from Sub-Saharan Africans, to the point that in some European languages "White Africa" is a synonym of "North Africa" (though the term is rarely used today)[[/note]], to the objections of those who feel misrepresented as much as they would by having a European actor play the same role.

* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' had Brenda Song playing an ancestor of London Tipton... during the American Revolutionary War. Hilariously but subtly lampshaded in that she seems to be (or believe that she is) French. Whether it was intentional and she really was supposed to be London's French paternal ancestor, it was intentional and she was absurdly somewhere in London's Thai ancestry, or it was completely unintended, it was completely {{Handwaved}} by being AllJustADream had by [[BookDumb Zack]]. Also, Mr. Moseby, who is black, is seen as a rich man. Most blacks in the Revolutionary War were slaves, but it is possible he was a freeman.

* ''VideoGame/SakuraWars: [[VideoGame/SakuraWarsSoLongMyLove So Long, My Love]]'' features Sagitta Weinberg/[[DubNameChange Cheiron Archer]], an African-American female lawyer in the TheRoaringTwenties; while college-educated black professionals were far from unheard of since the early 1900s, what's odd is that this character never has to fight prejudice or racism in the series (which instead would have been likely). Even for an AlternateHistory, this is just stretching it a bit.

* Depiction of UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} tend to make him resemble the artist's local population more than would be historically accurate. As a Galilean Jew, and one whose appearance is described in the Literature/TheBible only as being completely ordinary (to the point people who didn't already know him couldn't pick him out of a crowd), Jesus would most likely have a darker olive complexion similar to that of other Middle Eastern peoples.

* ''Film/WithAKissIDie'': Juliet, a medieval Italian noblewoman, is Black here. While not impossible, it would have been unlikely for a noble Veronese family like Capulets to be of African descent. This isn't c.ommented on in the film.

* A [[SassyBlackWoman Black Moorish woman prosecuting attorney]] named [[{{Valkyries}} Brunhild]] (!) appears in the eponymous ''Die Morin'', written by [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire German]] poet Hermann von Sachsenheim in the year ''[[OlderThanTheyThink 1453]]''. She is supposed to prosecute love cases for the goddess Venus and her lover, King Theatre/{{Tannhaeuser}} (!!), who, according to legend, lived in a subterranean kingdom under some mountain in Germany. Probably Sachsenheim assumed that a servant of Venus was a pagan, and a pagan was a Muslim, and a Muslim was a Moor, and that "Brun-hild" meant "brown-maiden" (instead of "byrnie (=mail-coat)-warrior").

* ''Series/{{Rome}}'' presents Cleopatra's escort as made up mostly of Black actors. Probably because unlike Cleopatra herself (who was Greek) the rest were supposed to be native Egyptians. However though this is a complex and contentious matter (the exact race of the Egyptians) most historians consider they were mostly not Black in the modern sense of the word.[[note]]Not including the Nubians who, indeed, ruled Egypt for a while and are still an ethnic minority there.[[/note]]

** During the raid of Algericas, in UsefulNotes/MoorishSpain (Al-Andalus), the population is made of Arab-Berbers with several Blacks. Although the ethnic situation of Al-Andalus is still hotly debated among scholars, it's generally believed to have been a mixture of Arab-Berbers and native Spaniards, either Christians (so called ''Mozarabs'') or Muslim converts. What is shown in the series is unlikely to have been the ethnic composition of any town in Al-Andalus.

* Music/MichaelJackson's music video "Remember the Time" has a cast made mostly of Black actors as Ancient Egyptians, as explained before although some people may associated Egyptians with Black people due to be both of African origin, however most scholars believe that native Egyptians were a distinct ethnic group (however, not White).

** In ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 3|SnakeEater}}'', a African-American man named Donald Anderson, codenamed 'Sigint', was recruited by Zero in 1960s America for his skill and not because of his skin color. Notable in that Sigint was recruited during the final year of Jim Crow Laws, which barred Blacks from using the same facilities as Whites in America. This is addressed by Sigint in an optional conversation, where he expresses his admiration for Zero as a committed non-racist who'll hire anyone good enough and bend the rules to keep them there. He discusses the racism present during that time and comments that racism will be present even in the twenty-first century. (Sigint's character was likely inspired by the African-American [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_(occupation) "computers"]] who worked on Space Race projects in the 1950s and 60s - but in real history, these computers were usually black ''women'', computing usually being seen as a feminine/secretarial job.)

* An interesting example in the ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur]]'' games with Zasalamel. Zasalamel is Black, and while his country of origin is never directly stated, it's implied that he's supposed to be Sumerian, as many of his moves have names that reference the Sumerian gods. Granted, since he's [[ResurrectiveImmortality an immortal who reincarnates every time he's killed]], it's entirely possible that the body he appears with is not his original. That said, his ending in ''IV'', where he is in the modern era, several hundred years after the game's events, shows Zasalamel still in the same body. While the implication is that he merely comes back to life each time he dies, and doesn't body hop when he reincarnates, it's unclear if Zasalamel was truly able to break his [[WhoWantsToLiveForever "curse of immortality"]], his goal in ''III''. (All that's stated in ''IV'' is that the power of the soul swords gave him a vision of the future later seen in his ending.) It wouldn't be many years later, in ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'', that Zasalamel would definitely state that he's reincarnated as people of various ethnicities ([[GenderBender and genders]]) over the course of his long life.

* Justified in ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}''. The Olympians look more like a MultinationalTeam than Greeks. But as the [[https://kotaku.com/black-athena-how-hades-gets-its-gods-right-1845146132 creative director of the game has pointed out]], they're called Greek gods merely because they were worshipped in Greece, not because they were Greek themselves, and that it would be far more nonsensical if the custodians of the ''whole'' world and creators of ''all'' of humanity only looked like white people.

It is possible that when a Black Viking appears in film or TV, the character is not intended to be seen as the same race as the actor. [[AbilityOverAppearance The actor used might have simply been the best available for the role]], and the writers are merely asking us to use our imagination to make the actor's physical appearance fit the character's. This is actually standard doctrine for modern stage theatrical productions as is called "non-traditional" or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colour-blind_casting colour-blind casting,]] referring to "the casting of ethnic minority and female actors in roles where race, ethnicity, or sex is not germane", in other words, where it is not relevant to the plot; Theatre/{{Othello}} can never be played by a white actor, for instance, because his blackness (or Moorishness, in any case) is central to the plot (aside from special productions like one with Creator/PatrickStewart in the title role while every other character [[PersecutionFlip is black]]).

It is possible that when a Black Viking appears in film or TV, the character is not intended to be seen as the same race as the actor. [[AbilityOverAppearance The actor used might have simply been the best available for the role]], and the writers are merely asking us to use our imagination to make the actor's physical appearance fit the character's. This is actually standard doctrine for modern stage theatrical productions as is called "non-traditional" or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colour-blind_casting colour-blind casting,]] referring to "the casting of ethnic minority and female actors in roles where race, ethnicity, or sex is not germane", in other words, where it is not relevant to the plot; Theatre/{{Othello}} can never be played by a white actor, for instance, because his blackness is central to the plot (aside from special productions like one with Creator/PatrickStewart in the title role while every other character [[PersecutionFlip is black]]).

Depending on the time and place, this can actually be [[AluminumChristmasTrees surprisingly realistic]], due to environments like trade cities and ports being conducive to ethnic mash-ups. For instance, Egypt, while having an ethnically distict population of its own, has been a trade hub, tourist destination, and cultural melting pot for millenia. It's also important to note that race as it is seen today is largely a modern construct only appearing in the past few centuries.

It is possible that when a Black Viking appears in film or TV, the character is not intended to be seen as the same race as the actor. [[AbilityOverAppearance The actor used might have simply been the best available for the role]], and the writers are merely asking us to use our imagination to make the actor's physical appearance fit the character's. This is actually standard doctrine for modern stage theatrical productions as is called "non-traditional" or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colour-blind_casting colour-blind casting,]] referring to "the casting of ethnic minority and female actors in roles where race, ethnicity, or sex is not germane", in other words, where it is not relevant to the plot; Othello can never be played by a white actor, for instance, because his blackness is central to the plot (aside from special productions like one with Creator/PatrickStewart in the title role while every other character [[PersecutionFlip is Black]]).

This trope can have a [[UnfortunateImplications touchy relationship]] with tropes like PlaysGreatEthnics; for instance, it's not uncommon (especially in US productions) to cast Black actors to portray North African peoples such as the Berbers[[note]]Thanks in part to the long history of Mediterranean trade and the travel barrier of the Sahara desert, North African populations are ethnically and culturally distinct from Sub Saharan Africans, to the point that in some European languages "White Africa" is a synonym of "North Africa" (though the term is rarely used today)[[/note]], to the objections of those who feel misrepresented as much as they would by having a European actor play the same role.

Depending on the time and place, this can actually be [[AluminumChristmasTrees surprisingly realistic]]. Trade cities have always been ethnic mash-ups, and soldiers and sailors have always been extraordinarily diverse lots (see ''Literature/MobyDick'' for one such diverse crew of sailors). There's clear written records and archaelogical evidence of a lively trade network between Southern Africa and Southeast Asia in the Middle Ages, and Egypt, while having an ethnically distict population of its own, has been a trade hub, tourist destination, and cultural melting pot for millenia. Some racial groups traveled farther from home much sooner than most people would assume--Creator/WilliamShakespeare didn't get the idea of a [[Theatre/{{Othello}} Moor in Venice]] from nowhere, nor did Creator/EmilyBronte get the idea of an AmbiguouslyBrown foundling [[Literature/WutheringHeights raised by a pre-Regency English family]] from nowhere. Vikings in particular captured slaves from the non-Norse ethnic groups they raided, who could later be freed, and sometimes (albeit rarely) these freed slaves could become Vikings themselves. Thus a literal Black Viking, or other person appearing far displaced from their ethnic ancestors, would be quite unusual but not impossible.

It's also important to note that race as it is seen today is largely a modern construct only appearing in the past few centuries. A particularly striking skintone might be considered a distinctive feature in the same manner as an unusual hair color, but in general was considered so unimportant that contemporary Roman writings often only mention in passing that numerous prominent historical figures were curly-haired and dark-skinned.

** The same can be said about ''TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'', including the inexplicably diverse small communities that would in any real setting have become a lot more homogenous due to intermarriage taking place.

** Something similar can be said about ''Series/TheRingsOfPower'', including the inexplicably diverse small communities that would in any real setting have become a lot more homogenous due to intermarriage taking place.

** ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'' has subjected the Velaryon family (who as pure-blooded Valyrians basically look like the Tagaryens in the source material) to a RaceLift.

* ''Series/TheWitcher2019'' takes place on an AlternateEarth whose peoples came from the original. RaceLift is enacted many, many times, seemingly at random, when in the source material nearly every character looked Northern European, resulting in rustic pseudo Polish villages being half populated by black or Asian people. Given how humanity arrived on the planet originally, it'd actually be semi-justified for the populations to not correspond to geography, but what makes it count for this trope is how this is done: all of the populations are inexplicably mixed. Every single village, town, and city in every single country has demographics roughly in line with a modern American or British city. Despite the Conjugation of the Spheres having taken place over a thousand years prior every country not only maintains visible racial minorities who are not acknowledged as such, but they all seem to have the exact same mix as every other country - including, somehow, the elves and dwarves.

** Averted and lampshaded in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'': [[TheMole Naomi]], while discussing her background, mentions that her Japanese-American grandfather was an FBI agent under Hoover. Although he didn't say anything for several scenes, Master Miller immediately knew she was lying. Later stating to Snake that J. Edgar Hoover was a notorious racist and he never would've allowed a man of Japanese descent as an agent.

* ''Series/TheWitcher'' takes place on an AlternateEarth whose peoples came from the original. RaceLift is enacted many, many times, seemingly at random, when in the source material nearly every character looked Northern European, resulting in rustic pseudo Polish villages being half populated by black or Asian people. Given how humanity arrived on the planet originally, it'd actually be semi-justified for the populations to not correspond to geography, but what makes it count for this trope is how this is done: all of the populations are inexplicably mixed. Every single village, town, and city in every single country has demographics roughly in line with a modern American or British city. Despite the Conjugation of the Spheres having taken place over a thousand years prior every country not only maintains visible racial minorities who are not acknowledged as such, but they all seem to have the exact same mix as every other country - including, somehow, the elves and dwarves.

* Subverted in an issue of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' featuring the immortal Hob Gadling attending a Renaissance fair with his current girlfriend (and [[DeadpanSnarker making a lot of cutting comments about it]].) When Hob asks his girlfriend why she isn't the Queen of the Fair, she points out her ethnicity (she's black) and the fact that the fair is trying to be at least ''a little'' authentic (she specifically says, "There were no black Queens of England.") To which Hob immediately replies, "Catherine of Aragon. If she'd been living in Selma, Alabama in the early 60s, they'd have made her ride at the back of the bus." Presumably, he would have to have been referring to the "just one drop" rule since it has been claimed, although not substantiated, that Catherine of Aragon had a black (or Moorish) ancestor just a few generations back, considering that [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/catherine_of_aragon/ Catherine had red hair, blue eyes, and very fair skin.]]

* Broadway's colorblind casting frequently results in this. Case in point, Norm Lewis as ''Theatre/LesMiserables''' Javert in the 2006 Broadway revival as well as the 2010 25th Anniversary Concert. While it's entirely possible that there were black people in France during that time period (indeed, a black actor played Enjolras in the most recent Broadway revival(, it's not likely that one could have risen to Javert's rank in the police department[[note]]though in [[Literature/LesMiserables the book]] it's said that Javert's parents were "gypsies", reading to some fan debate as to what exactly his ethnicity is, as it's uncertain whether that means specifically Romani, or just vagrants more generally[[/note]].