Friday, December 5, 2014

Did you know that the IRISH were the FIRST SLAVES IN THE AMERICAS?? READ AND SHARE!

The Irish Slave Trade – The Forgotten “White” Slaves

The Slaves That the Progressives and Race baiters conveniently forget.

They came as slaves; vast human cargo transported on tall British ships bound for the Americas. They were shipped by the hundreds of thousands and included men, women, and even the youngest of children. 

Whenever they rebelled or even disobeyed an order, they were punished in the harshest ways. Slave owners would hang their human property by their hands and set their hands or feet on fire as one form of punishment. They were burned alive and had their heads placed on pikes in the marketplace as a warning to other captives.

We don’t really need to go through all of the gory details, do we? We know all too well the atrocities of the African slave trade.

But, are we talking about African slavery? King James II and Charles I also led a continued effort to enslave the Irish. Britain’s famed Oliver Cromwell furthered this practice of dehumanizing one’s next door neighbor.

The Irish slave trade began when James II sold 30,000 Irish prisoners as slaves to the New World. His Proclamation of 1625 required Irish political prisoners be sent overseas and sold to English settlers in the West Indies. By the mid 1600s, the Irish were the main slaves sold to Antigua and Montserrat. At that time, 70% of the total population of Montserrat were Irish slaves.

Ireland quickly became the biggest source of human livestock for English merchants. The majority of the early slaves to the New World were actually white.
From 1641 to 1652, over 500,000 Irish were killed by the English and another 300,000 were sold as slaves. Ireland’s population fell from about 1,500,000 to 600,000 in one single decade. Families were ripped apart as the British did not allow Irish dads to take their wives and children with them across the Atlantic. This led to a helpless population of homeless women and children. Britain’s solution was to auction them off as well.

During the 1650s, over 100,000 Irish children between the ages of 10 and 14 were taken from their parents and sold as slaves in the West Indies, Virginia and New England. In this decade, 52,000 Irish (mostly women and children) were sold to Barbados and Virginia. Another 30,000 Irish men and women were also transported and sold to the highest bidder. In 1656, Cromwell ordered that 2000 Irish children be taken to Jamaica and sold as slaves to English settlers.

Many people today will avoid calling the Irish slaves what they truly were: Slaves. They’ll come up with terms like “Indentured Servants” to describe what occurred to the Irish. However, in most cases from the 17th and 18th centuries, Irish slaves were nothing more than human cattle.
As an example, the African slave trade was just beginning during this same period. It is well recorded that African slaves, not tainted with the stain of the hated Catholic theology and more expensive to purchase, were often treated far better than their Irish counterparts.

African slaves were very expensive during the late 1600s (50 Sterling). Irish slaves came cheap (no more than 5 Sterling). If a planter whipped or branded or beat an Irish slave to death, it was never a crime. A death was a monetary setback, but far cheaper than killing a more expensive African. The English masters quickly began breeding the Irish women for both their own personal pleasure and for greater profit. Children of slaves were themselves slaves, which increased the size of the master’s free workforce. Even if an Irish woman somehow obtained her freedom, her kids would remain slaves of her master. Thus, Irish moms, even with this new found emancipation, would seldom abandon their kids and would remain in servitude.

In time, the English thought of a better way to use these women (in many cases, girls as young as 12) to increase their market share: The settlers began to breed Irish women and girls with African men to produce slaves with a distinct complexion. These new “mulatto” slaves brought a higher price than Irish livestock and, likewise, enabled the settlers to save money rather than purchase new African slaves. This practice of interbreeding Irish females with African men went on for several decades and was so widespread that, in 1681, legislation was passed “forbidding the practice of mating Irish slave women to African slave men for the purpose of producing slaves for sale.” In short, it was stopped only because it interfered with the profits of a large slave transport company.

England continued to ship tens of thousands of Irish slaves for more than a century. Records state that, after the 1798 Irish Rebellion, thousands of Irish slaves were sold to both America and Australia. There were horrible abuses of both African and Irish captives. One British ship even dumped 1,302 slaves into the Atlantic Ocean so that the crew would have plenty of food to eat.
There is little question that the Irish experienced the horrors of slavery as much (if not more in the 17th Century) as the Africans did. There is, also, very little question that those brown, tanned faces you witness in your travels to the West Indies are very likely a combination of African and Irish ancestry. In 1839, Britain finally decided on it’s own to end it’s participation in Satan’s highway to hell and stopped transporting slaves. While their decision did not stop pirates from doing what they desired, the new law slowly concluded THIS chapter of nightmarish Irish misery.

But, if anyone, black or white, believes that slavery was only an African experience, then they’ve got it completely wrong.

Irish slavery is a subject worth remembering, not erasing from our memories.
But, where are our public (and PRIVATE) schools???? Where are the history books? Why is it so seldom discussed?

Do the memories of hundreds of thousands of Irish victims merit more than a mention from an unknown writer?

Or is their story to be one that their English pirates intended: To (unlike the African book) have the Irish story utterly and completely disappear as if it never happened.

None of the Irish victims ever made it back to their homeland to describe their ordeal. These are the lost slaves; the ones that time and biased history books conveniently forgot.

SO THE NEXT TIME SOME PROGRESSIVE CHARLATAN TELLS YOU ABOUT BLACK SLAVERY.... TELL THEM SOMETHING THEY PROBABLY DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT!!

..and for those who will say that the Irish were "just Indentured Servants..."

Slaves or Indentured Servants
There has been a lot of whitewashing of the Irish slave trade, partly by not mentioning it, and partly by labeling slaves as indentured servants. There were indeed indentureds, including English, French, Spanish and even a few Irish. But there is a great difference between the two. Indentures bind two or more parties in mutual obligations. Servant indentures were agreements between an individual and a shipper in which the individual agreed to sell his services for a period of time in exchange for passage, and during his service, he would receive proper housing, food, clothing, and usually a piece of land at the end of the term of service. It is believed that some of the Irish that went to the Amazon settlement after the Battle of Kinsale and up to 1612 were exiled military who went voluntarily, probably as indentureds to Spanish or Portuguese shippers.
However, from 1625 onward the Irish were sold, pure and simple as slaves. There were no indenture agreements, no protection, no choice. They were captured and originally turned over to shippers to be sold for their profit. Because the profits were so great, generally 900 pounds of cotton for a slave, the Irish slave trade became an industry in which everyone involved (except the Irish) had a share of the profits.

Treatment
Although the Africans and Irish were housed together and were the property of the planter owners, the Africans received much better treatment, food and housing. In the British West Indies the planters routinely tortured white slaves for any infraction. Owners would hang Irish slaves by their hands and set their hands or feet afire as a means of punishment. To end this barbarity, Colonel William Brayne wrote to English authorities in 1656 urging the importation of Negro slaves on the grounds that, "as the planters would have to pay much more for them, they would have an interest in preserving their lives, which was wanting in the case of (Irish)...." many of whom, he charged, were killed by overwork and cruel treatment. African Negroes cost generally about 20 to 50 pounds Sterling, compared to 900 pounds of cotton (about 5 pounds Sterling) for an Irish. They were also more durable in the hot climate, and caused fewer problems. The biggest bonus with the Africans though, was they were NOT Catholic, and any heathen pagan was better than an Irish Papist. Irish prisoners were commonly sentenced to a term of service, so theoretically they would eventually be free. In practice, many of the slavers sold the Irish on the same terms as prisoners for servitude of 7 to 10 years.


39 comments:

Anonymous said...

I only learned of this as I went through he Equal Opportunity Advisor course for military service members and I am of Irish decent!!

THE JOHN GAULTIER BULLETIN said...

I am always asked why it only took one generation for the Irish to move from slavery... well that speaks to their cultural back ground more than to any form of skin color or ethnicity. Most Irish already spoke the language. So the time frame was shorter than for the Africa Slave.
But just when they were just about to break free.. the White Democrats of the South created a long term dependency by creating the NEW DEAL...
The black man is a slave all over again on a new Plantation... with a hierarchy of owners, bosses and foreman!!
Read from the HUFFPO so that you do not call this a right leaning article...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-relentless-conservative/the-democratic-partys-two_b_933995.html

Anonymous said...

One of my kids had read this info to me a few months ago.... did not know of it before but did wonder about the geneology when I met a very white skinned, kinky haired, person, who had a picture of her mulatto grandmother in her living room (west indies)... This should be in all history books. Shame on England... now they have invited the mohammedans to take over the land.

Anonymous said...

Bullshit Natives had their land taken from them, killed entire tribes in the name of progress, relocated to a land not their own & stripped of their sacred cultural practices.

Many Irish people became Cops! Natives are still treated unfairly & treaties were not upheld.

Anonymous said...

This isn't a competition. Denying slavery for the doesn't make what happened to Native American and Africans any worse or any better. Last I checked black people are cops too now. That doesn't invalidate their trials and suffering? I'm sure there are Native American police officers too. Also women can now be cops, and that doesn't make what women used to have to put up with any different either. The future doesn't erase the past.

Anonymous said...

"There has been a lot of whitewashing of the Irish slave trade, partly by not mentioning it, and partly by labeling slaves as indentured servants" ....how do you whitewash Caucasians? You're also completely leaving out Native Americans here but I guess they don't matter in this case, not to mention that nearly all of this post is lifted from here: http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-irish-slave-trade-the-forgotten-white-slaves/31076. I'm Irish, my entire lineage is Irish, and I find it hard to believe that no one I know has ever heard of this. Knowing how much the Irish like to gossip, you'd think it'd have gotten out at some point or other. This comes off as completely unfounded and poorly written. Either get some new material backed up by facts which you can source, or leave history to people who actually know what they're talking about.

Anonymous said...

The black and native american slavery occurred on an entirely different scale, not to mention that there are no reputable sources on this topic. I'm not sure that there's any past for the future to erase here.

Anonymous said...

How does Irish slavery make the African slave experience less horrific?

Anonymous said...

It does not.. it just means that the African Slave never got over it! That's the point of the post!

Anonymous said...

I am also of Irish decent and I find it sad that no one from your lineage has ever passed these stories down, shown you drawn pictures or anything of the like. I've known of these atrocities since I was a child. Before you simply cast it to the side, you may want to dig a wee bit deeper. Especially in text that aren't from this land. Perhaps from the homeland? Just a thought.

MAZZ said...

this is very true, even my ancestors were Irish but free settlers after the war, the women back then were bought from Ireland to Australia to work as prostitutes for the navy men..sad it was..they had hard lives here.

Sharon Burress said...

I am a 72 year old female of Irish descent and educated in the hills and mountains of WV and southwestern VA.
I was taught about the white slavery in SCHOOL over 60 years ago. I doubt seriously if schools are still teaching about it. White slavery doesn't fit the basic assumption of the progressive social engineers who portray the biggest villain of all time as the white male.

DDDDDuane said...

The only reason black slaves were later used in the US is because the white slaves south of the Mason/Dixon line were dropping like flies from malaria...(oops...non-approved history...)
The jew purveyors of african slaves offered a solution and the White plantation owners took it....Many of the biggest slave plantations in the South were jew owned....

Anonymous said...

I feel like the whole "Whites were slaves too, so get over it" point ignores the fact that the Irish have fought tooth and nail to get out from under the thumb of British oppression. The Rebellion of 1798, Trade Unions, the IRA....huge political movements, both violent and non-violent, but sadly mostly violent, out of necessity. Here in the United states, the Irish who weren't slaves could expect to take the jobs no one else would. People were proud of their Irish heritage, and they were called "micks". Irish gangs rang rampant in the streets...because they were poor, because they were treated like dirt. My point being, the Irish didn't take it lying down, so you can't expect other people who have been looked down upon and treated like second class citizens to take it lying down either. If anything, you should have more sympathy for the struggles of other races, instead of turning your nose up at them. Rather than telling people to "get over it", remember the struggle we Irish had to go through in order to get equal citizen status. We didn't have an Irish Catholic President until Kennedy took office. Believe it or not, some Irish descendents have never "gotten over it." We have just blended in better, even though to this day my family is mocked for being so pale by other whites.

Anonymous said...

So what's your point? That black people have no right to complain? If you want to document a little-known piece of history, by all means please do. We would all be better and wiser for it. But if your goal is to use this as a political message minimizing the destructive inequity in opportunity and wealth that exists today between white and black America – or to imply, as you seem to do, that white Americans of Irish descent are somehow superior to blacks Americans of African descent – then you are no historian.

Anonymous said...

http://www.academia.edu/9475964/The_Myth_of_Irish_Slaves_in_the_Colonies

Tipsey O'Stagger said...

The Irish never got over it... HA. I'll drink to that!!!

Anonymous said...

This isn't about African American slave trade. It's about Irish American slave trade. What's so wrong with telling about other atrocities?

Anonymous said...

Bravo.....Salvery has become a rational for any failures in their lifetime.

Anonymous said...

Opportunity is not equal t oday, you are correct. My white daughter is about to graduate from college, where she held down two jobs and a strenuous double major (chemistry and psychology) while volunteering as well. She us b ear the President's list despite the work load.
She did it all without the assistance of the 4 inch thick list of education benefits available to BLACK ONLY students. If you want to be judged by the strength of your character and not the color of your skin, de c elop some character and stop living off if handouts and hand ups because someone in your family in 1850 was a slave

Anonymous said...

They didn't rite laws to keep Irish people slave....

Anonymous said...

The Irish weren't subject to long-term laws and regulations that prevented them from voting, learning, going to school or doing work. Assimilation is easy when your skin is the right color. Suggest you read a history book or two before you make smug judgements on someone else's inferiority.

Anonymous said...

Amen, my brother.

Anonymous said...

Actually the Irish were subject to laws like that and for a lot longer than African I might add. Those laws came into place in the 11th century and the Irish practically fought a war in the early 20th century to get what the have now. In Ireland it was illegal for an Irish citizen to even own land. Perhaps you need to read some history books instead before making uneducated comment. Oh and I grew up in Ireland and have been through the school system there, this history has been drummed into me since I was four years old. The Scottish also have a similar story, while they were not sold as slaves in the west Indies, they were treated like animals by the English up till the 17th century. In fact even now the British government uses Scotland as their trial area for all new tax laws etc just to see if they would work.

Stephen0829 said...

I have Irish blood but need to subheading to being an American who needs to be known separately from the rest, I am simply an American.

ed waldo (Hart Williams) said...

So what are you defending? Slavery?. Mass murder in churches? Or just Satan?

Dave Mc Callen. said...

The reason the black population has not recovered from slavery as well as the Irish is simply colour. If an Irishman joined a community he was accepted as "one of us". The black dude was obviously not "one of us"

Anonymous said...

That's not fair to be anonymous and deny the past just 'cause you didn't hear of it. It happened in our Irish family. They overcame, built a business and the crash wiped it out. They rose again. I was one of twelve in an Irish family. Everyone of us is tough as nails, worked our ways through college, graduated, have families and are respected in varied careers. Get over yourself.

La Reice Monaie said...

You forgot burning in the sun because they are a genetically inferior subspecies. And yes the sun is racist lol.

Unknown said...

Why have so many people missed the point of this article? It's not to say that slavery was better or worse; it's just providing information for something that is widely unknown...it doesn't diminsh historical facts for any other race & the atrocities they went through... it just provides some info. Take it for what it is: data to educate. There is absolutely no reason to get all in a huff about who had it worse. Gee whiz...

jwoop66 said...

I have a bunch of Irish in my lineage. Who fucking cares? Drunks and socialists. Nothing wrong with drunks necessarily.....

jwoop66 said...

"liam hogan hasn't loaded this page yet" Thats what it says.....

Liam, you lazy, drunken mick bastard! You're probably a fuckin socialist too, aren't you? IRA cocksucker....

Get off your ass liam.

Unknown said...

I think the point here, yes, is that all should get over it. Because it's in the past where it belongs. Quit sucking on the government teat for things YOU personally never experienced. NO. no one deserves benefits bereft to generations past. You didn't go through it. Quit Fucking whining because there is no longer the same injustice. Now we're all slaves to the big government machine. That's all. No it isn't an inherently evil machine, but it doesn't care. It only wants smart profit.
People who say otherwise, that in America, there still is discrimination and injustice, I view with the same regard as conspiracy theorists. You weren't there. You don't know. Grow up. Done is done.

Anonymous said...

It just seems ironic that the people being educated in these United States were filled with historical lies. Yes we were taught about indentured servants but nothing of Irish slaves? We learned of the African slaves and also the German killings of Jews,and Christopher Columbus discovered America WHO'S HISTORY? But to get over it when you didn't live it makes me think of the old saying...HISTORY REPEATS IT'S SELF is scary..Learn from the past if it is true then except it,Move on You are owed nothing ! Yes we are all slaves here to an extent get up do the right thing TEACH your/our children WELL so we never repeat this ignorance again..IRISH/ITALIAN here But truly...AMERICAN !!

Unknown said...

As an Irish person I find the justification of racism through such tactics to be morally abhorrent. It is a poor state of humanity exemplified by such opportunistic racism.

Anonymous said...

It seems that history is written by the victors. Try reading about the Revolutionary war in Canadian history books -it is a different story. The Jacobites were rounded up in Scotland and sent to Barbados after the Battle of Colladen. It is documented in history. Perhaps we need to study why the powerful has the desire to prey upon the weak and powerless. This transcends skin color and seems to be a basic human flaw. Any thoughts?

Unknown said...

The information in this article has been thoroughly de-bunked by this Irish academic. The reason we weren't taught this in school is because it's untrue. Whilst the treatment of indentured servants (Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh) was appalling, to compare it with the suffering of African slaves is factually and morally wrong. https://medium.com/@Limerick1914/the-imagery-of-the-irish-slaves-myth-dissected-143e70aa6e74#.hru4xqfnu

Anonymous said...

How can ANY ONE with ANY common sense and compassion EVER tell a group of people that were enslaved,abused, tortured,treated unfairly and still treated unfairly to "get over" it? How INHUMAN can you be? I am sure now that you benefit from all this in society so I guess it makes you no difference as long as you're getting what YOU want out of life. But remember...things change, tables turn and God will repay!!

omnai said...

Just like white folk, another pathetic attempt to try relate to something that is getting notoriety.