The Slaves That Time Forgot
By John Martin
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? After all, 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 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.
http://afgen.com/forgotten_slaves.html
all illusions must be killed STOP SAYING UR WHITE IF IT DOESNT MATTER AN WE ARE ALL THE SAME the race card is played by those who created it from bleac in middle english to what the whiggamoor party stole in 1863 .this is how long people have been white then the signed in fo fake white from wight in 1865 ,if it doesnt matter stop signing in checking the race box on ur contracts , handouts u sy what hand outs from what money fronm where what paper the birth certificate situs trus so if they have cattle stoc k bith certificae bonds that are bought an sold on the stock market each day the they get no hnd outs if they give their socal to get benefits from debt instruments monetizzed for them an their children to eat ,that u still use the old archie bunker handout spell tell all need to study muur about bankig an the bank that is the birth certificate from the hospital .u nock it off we didnt eat ur ancestos like cannibles an sell their meat aass steaks for th first meat industry ,,slavery is th least u of the crms being it was corrupted from indentured servitude ,,,irish an italian wasnt pt on census as wwhite until 1950 ,,non are free whte sovereign in 13 14 amenddment ,,=you tube meet your strawman,,stop playing this trivial game saying ur white from noahs ark treaty from 1491 camels eye treaty ,,there will be no full love n peace while ppeople sign into be colors an dead people in all caps on paper ,,this blog an comments are all good ,,did we indiginous bring our problems to the east or europe cleaning its bowels of cagots carrions to cleanse itself they claimed ,, the haand out is to the pedophile invaders an the diseases they bought while eating an rapin their way on the land .their is no race but those who sign into thee priviledge are the first to say forget about the past when we victimized u an too ur land killed r men an claimed inheritance from children of rape of our clan muthers ,rah rah rah in my kundilini my life force but english has corrupted that into meaning something weak an insignificant .putting back in its place what has been replaced is the will of divine matriarchal law
Sad how people who don’t know the subject let alone the history, argue against what is presented instead of educating themselves, Slavery has been practiced since before recorded history, basically when we went from hunter gatherer to organized large city’s with commodity’s (like agriculture ) Slavery was practiced by ALL ETHNICITY”S , even native americans enslaved ribal tribes (mayans) the oldest human remains found in America were not of native americans decent, they were of caucasian and negroid , you think those crossing from asia were peaceful with the natives? Hell no, they did exactly what they were running from pillage and rape till they became a mixed people something every country has and still is doing ( war in Afghanastan…you think our soldiers are just fighting ? look up reports of Us soldiers raping villagers and not done by white alone, mind you) We have so many forms of slavery, financial slavery, marrying for financial security instead of wanting to be together (American divorce rates are high) Slavery is still happening, may always happen, Slavery is just not as readily seen, Slavery is happening in Toledo,Ohio, the sex trade, 1000 american born children , born into the sex trade or forced into it a year, as young as newborn(sick) (no documentation, born on the very bed their mother is chained too and sold or kept) That marijuana your smoking, dealed by organized criminal rings, how do you think they get the money in the first place to buy those drugs, sex trade, so next time you watch a porno, think of the people in it, do you think they really want to do that ? Taking advantage of others should be against the law, and we as people should be actively fighting against poverty and crime. that made in china product, that chocolate bar, that video game, that shirt, the very electronic device you are using to view this post, think of the people who made it, easily found out where an item is made, and how the workers are treated. 15 cents or less a day for 1 bowl of rice for working 15 or more hours strait with no breaks is a horrific way to live. Even fair trade if you research the workers may be children, paid less then a 1 a day, long hours, and a pittance in pay never having a chance to go to school or get medical care, work and sleep, . Every action you do, has an effect. I refuse to buy crops picked by illegal alien farm hands, i don’t support slave wage labor and any company that employs illegal aliens should be heavily fined. Karma, how long before one of mine or your family members or even i or you are in that very predicament, forced to sell their/our body , forced to work for free or cheaply. Americans are being kidnapped every day. sold to other country’s for sex,or free labor. it is hitting everyone everywhere. this is not a racism issue, this is a crime against humanity issue. those missing persons, missing children, you think they are all dead?Look at Jaycee lee dugard she was from a well off family, kidnapped and raped from the time she was kidnapped till the time she was found had giving birth to two children sired by him . And there are many more horrific story;s, look up the No body’s, children born undocumented either raped or sold by their own parents. Slavery is still happening, stop the finger pointing of holier then art though, if you buy a made in china product you ain’t no better, if you ever watched a porno you aint no better, if you bought drugs again no better you are financially supporting the slave trade. My cousin was pimped off by her adoptive fatehr, he took custody of her when she was little, wasn’t found out till she was 17 years old. When police raided his home for child pornography. and she was found in his bed naked with him. tied up and bruised up. the videos and photo’s they found of her from 2 years old to 17 of countless men (and woman) having sex with her. they found other children he had molested or brought to his home and sold, neighbors children, children he was entrusted to watch . Heck there was a woman in arizona charged in a sex trafficking ring, she was babysitting 15 children(boys and girls), all of which she sold for sex , paid to watch them, paid to abuse them she was even pimping out 5 of her own biological kids. . i am going on a rant, but i am tired of this happening, this century has the highest recorded slavery rate then any other (27 million people world wide a year are enslaved today and thats on the low estimate) That enslaved person could be me, or you, your child, my child, a friend,a parent, man , woman, child , rich, poor , black, white, asian, hispanic, indian. could happen to anyone, stop pointing fingers and actively fight against slavery. fight against taking advantage of others. don’t support slave wage labor. your money, your actions, as mine do effect the whole and may effect you one day. . We in the U.S.A have many internal problems(like any where else in the world), poverty, racism, pollution, crime’s, social inequality, non equality , SLAVERY, starvation. economy should we not fix our own glass house before casting stones at others or trying to fix others problems?
Thank you
You put that down perfectly
Hopefully ppl start to understand, wake up to really what’s going on like you said..
Thank you
Just a point to add – by critical estimate I reckon there are more than 6 billion slaves on earth! An even worse form of slavery lives on and it belongs the realms of the immaterial mind, and most dangerous, for in its subtlety most of the slaves erroneously believe they are free!
I just started reading about this and find it very interesting. Does anyone recommend any books or others means of learning about the topic? I don’t know much about my ancestry only that my grandparents were both Irish orphans, My grandfather from New York and grandmother from Alabama. Thank you.
How the irish became white by ignatief
which has been laughed at by peers because if its inconstancy’s, warped facts and basic racism
caucasion,remains,are,no,older,the,7000,years,old,we,were.indiginous,at,least100,000
years,before,1492,not,native,american,cause,according,to,that,phrase,causeitwould,have,to,be,named,america,before1492,so,native,americans,only,been,here,since1492,engish,1828,people,dont,know,what,it,was,called,before,1492,or,before,100,000,,before/man/therewasnot/time.with,white,slavery,today,watch,ur,own,children,,country,run,on,commerce,slavery,built,on,cotton,has,the.busiest,vice/squad,in/world..marijuana,is/legal/in.many,states,,,,thats,not,why.catholick/church/sacrifice/rituals,happen,in/america/daily,,what/religion/are/these
people/christians,catholicks,,check,they,raising,for,the,cause,,the/initiated.or
victim/initiates/the/next,,victim,,,,mooorish,orthadox,church,of,america,are.irish,theignorance,beegins,with/termsof,color,,likecaucasoid,negroid,ethnic,,,i/dont/call/myself/that,,negro,label
people,do,that,to,stick,from,their.side.we,dont,call,ourself,dead,negroid,,necro/latin=dead,,cant,giive,life,to,,,,dead,zombie,,magic,of.the,situs,trust,,birth,certificate
it,would,have.to,be,called,america,before1492,native
american,so,called
only
been
here,,,,,since1492,indiginous,aboriginal,is,not,native,american,but,before,1491,camels,eye,treaty//then/columbus,commission,rapin,children,it
was,terra
incognita,to
them
then
now the irish know this perhaps they may not be so racist towards blacks !!!
im irish, never known any racism against anyone, unless they wanted a new house somewhere and needed a reason to get out of their old one
People are not racist towards blacks who follow societies rules. Its the crime ridden, fatherless, raping, white hating, gun packing ghetto people who would rather rob you than stay in school. I will never accept that culture. The Irish pulled themselves up and became respected members of the community. A high percent of blacks have done the same but some think the USA owes them well they stay stoned and make more welfare babies. Until that element changes, there will always be racism.
You are child-like in your assumptions. According to you “the Irish pulled themselves up”. I ask you, are there no more Irish on welfare? Non fatherless, uneducated, in prison? I am sure you won’t claim that the whole Irish clans became self-reliant and successful before discrimination against them eased up. Why use a different measure for African Americans whom you disrespectfully address as “black”? Look again at yourself in the mirror…
Yeah. Um. you are not african american. Unless you were born in Africa. As a 3rd gen ethiopian, I don’t even use that term and I have more right to it as you do.
What african identity is there? No such thing exists. Africa is a continent that houses many different countries. Ethiopia is not the same as Nigeria.
You are a black (brown) skinned American.
The rest of your post is on point. People should hold others to a different standard. But there is one major difference.
When a white american comes into contact with a black american and something negative happens, racism is automatic. Why is that? It’s usually the black person that pulls the race card. Interesting.
In 2011, there was a man by the name of Ken Mieske who died in an Oregon prison. Apparently he suffered complications from Hepatitis C. Why was we even in prison? He was serving a term for the brutal slaying of an Ethiopian immigrant back in 1988. Ken Mieske was a member of a Portland white supremacist, skinhead group who referred to themselves as East Side White Pride. Mulugeta Seraw, the Ethiopian victim, came to the United States to attend college. He had hopes and dreams and a great future ahead of him. On that fateful night, Ken Mieske and others confronted Mr. Seraw and his colleague, but the group savagely left Mr. Seraw dying in his own pool of blood. His skull was left crushed between a baseball bat and a hard pavement. The moral is, you can’t always judge people when negative interactions take place. Mr. Seraw was not playing ‘the race card’ he was just not the right color that night. Whether he was a brown skinned American, as you say, or a even a 5th generation immigrant didn’t matter to those particular hate filled people. Sometimes these things do actually happen in America. Really.
Oh my God, the Irish pulled themselves up and became respected members of the community? Are you suggesting that they were freed because they changed their ways and no longer deserved to be slaves? The idea that any repressed race has a duty to prove themselves to their oppressors is frankly offensive.