Funny enough there were black people on pirate ships and black people were around in Victorian England. Black people did serve in WWII as well. White people have a long history of white washing roles for Asian people e.g. in Kung Fu, Dr. Strange, Last Air Bender, etc. And inserting themselves in a ahistorical movies e.g. Last Samurai. Mocking black people in vaudeville minstrel roles (e.g. Mickey Mouse). I am not moved by these sudden appeals for accuracy in fiction.

tldr; I shed crocodile tears when I hear that white people are offended by race switching in modern period films.