It is quite dispiriting how soon after #BLM protests started the resurgence of #Irishslave #scottishslave and #wewereallslaves memes and bullshit ‘articles’ started circulating. I seem to be spending a lot of my time posting rebuttals to ppl / pages that should know better.
Some basic facts for those who want to fight the good fight. Yes a large number of Irish and Scottish were forcibly sent to the Caribbean by Cromwell but that’s a tiny % of those who went in total. This included many Europeans (even the English) and was often voluntary.
The Irish and Scottish who went to the Caribbean went as (indentured) servants. This meant they signed up for a period of service - varying between 2-7 years generally - once it was over they could renew their service or move on. They were often granted small parcels of land.
The conditions of servitude could be extremely harsh and Irish and Scots were often ill equipped for the conditions of the Caribbean and so many died before the end of their servitude.
The difference between servitude and slavery (as per transatlantic slavery): slavery was racialized (only people of African descent), it was perpetual and it was hereditary. Slaves were categorized as chattel (property), whereas servants always retained their humanity.
The transatlantic slave trade cannot be compared in form, scale, organization, govt-sponsoring, legal status or racialized nature to any other form of slavery that existed before or after (certainly not to Viking, Barbary pirates or modern slavery).
Some articles to read and circulate (depending on the flavor or ‘we were slaves too’ you are dealing with). Stephen Mullen’s great article on the Scottish context sceptical.scot/2016/03/the-my…
Anything by Liam Hogan @Limerick1914 Liam Hogan (and there is a lot!). A recent paper psmag.com/social-justice…
There is even a Wikipedia page on ‘Irish Slave myth’ - this is how mainstream the critique of this nonsense has got (how are people in all conscience still sharing this stuff?!). en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_sla…
Lastly - I feel like I am sharing this all the time now! - a very succinct article @Limerick1914 Matt Reilly and I wrote for History Ireland explaining the differences between chattel slavery and indentured servitude historyireland.com/18th-19th-cent…
It is clear why this is happening now. Anyone who can google knows that #Irishslave articles are bullshit. We have to start calling out those who continue to post and defend them. Whether it is the intention or not, sharing that material is denying the racial legacies of slavery.
