Scipio Africanus was a former slave born to unknown parents from West Africa. He was named after Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the famous Roman general who defeated the Carthaginian military leader Hannibal.

Henbury is a suburb of Bristol, England, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) north west of the city centre. It was formerly a village in Gloucestershire and is now bordered by Westbury-on-Trym to the south; Brentry to the east and the Blaise Castle Estate, Blaise Hamlet and Lawrence Weston to the west. To the north lie the South Gloucestershire village of Hallen and the entertainment/retail park Cribbs Causeway.