Drunk history: Black Stories

S2 E6 • 12/14/2023

The Great Star of Africa

This is the story of one of the world's most remarkable treasures, The Great Star of Africa aka Cullinan I, the largest rough diamond ever found. Extracted by miners from the Premier Mine in South Africa in 1905, the jewel’s discovery was claimed by colonial diamond magnate Sir Thomas Cullinan, before it was gifted to King Edward VII in 1907 as "a token of loyalty” to the British royal family. Musician and mixed media artist Kojey Radical, tells us how The Great Star of Africa was found, and of its calls for the remarkable diamond to be returned to its rightful home.