September 9, 2024 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, slavery is one of the oldest profit-making endeavors, and the Irish were a special target for a thousand years. Colin D. Heaton, a military veteran and a host of the YouTube channel, "Forgotten History," tells us the story.
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories. There's been an
ongoing debate as to whether the Irish were the first
slaves in the Americas, pre dating the first Black African
slaves by almost a decade. Our next story comes to
us from Colin D. Heaton and Mike Droberg, two military
(00:30):
veterans and the founders of the terrific YouTube channel Forgotten History.
Their videos focus on military heroes, actions and events spanning
across the globe and are watched by hundreds of thousands
of people. Here's Colin Heaton with the story.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Some groups deny the Irish slavery under English and later
British rule, claiming that this was nothing more than voluntary,
intentioned servitude, which did exist. However, the official British legal
terminology used was indentured servants. Whether the servants in question
had willingly signed the indentured contract to immigrate to the
Americas or were first to go. Many were forced. Therefore,
(01:14):
those transported unwillingly and effectively sold were not considered to
be indentured. This included political prisoners, vagrants, convicts, political activists, thieves, prostitutes,
or people who had been defined as undesirable by the
English government. The Irish introduction to slavery was during the
(01:35):
first Viking rates in the year seven ninety five, lasting
through the mid ninth century. This period saw the Irish
killed and enslaved, just like many other societies, the Vikings attacked.
Most of these early raids were along the northern and
eastern coast, using hit and run tactics. The Vikings would
then flee with treasure and slaves and returned to either
(01:57):
their holdings in Scotland or back to Norway. Usually, many
slaves who were of value were ransomed back to their families,
but others remained in captivity. Then, from the year eight
thirty seven onward, larger targets such as the greater monastic
towns of Armagh, Glendallah, Kildare, Slain, Clonard and Clonmacnoi's and
(02:19):
Lismore were hit by larger forces. These large scale rage
generally spare the smaller local churches and villages far Inland,
but slaves were still taken, mostly to Scotland and Iceland.
In eight seventy five, Irish slaves in Iceland launched Europe's
largest slave rebellion since the end of the Roman Empire,
when Holfierff Holmarston's slaves killed him and fled to Vetsmaniyar.
(02:43):
In eight forty one, the port that became known as
Dublin was taken and occupied by both Olaf and Ivar
the Boneless, and by eight fifty three this part of
Ireland was a Norse trading center and slaves were a
large part of it. But Irish resistance was not over
and nine eighty the Irish under Mail Seconal Macdomneil, King
(03:04):
of Meath, fought and managed to defeat the Vikings.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
And freed all of their slaves.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Some Vikings who remained assimilated and adapted to Christianity and
became part of Irish society. The final nail in the
coffin regarding Vikings holding land and taking slaves was in
ten fourteen at the Battle of Clontarf, when Brian Burrew,
High King of Ireland, attacked Dublin, aided by his allies
the Limerick Vikings. They fought other Irish ally to the
(03:31):
local Vikings in Dublin and Beru's force I and all
the slaves were again freed, thus ending the legacy of
constant Norse raids, whether from Danes or Norwegians. In eleven
fifty five, Pope Adrian the Fourth supposedly gave Henry the
Second of England a papal bull, granting the king the
authority to invade Ireland. However, many historians believed that.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
This authorization was a forgery.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Regardless, Adyrian's successor, Pope Alexander the Third, granted the lands
of ire Ireland to Henry the Second, although it was
not his land to give. The Normans were initially invited
to Ireland by Dermott macmurrah, the deposed King of Leinster.
In October eleven seventy one, King Henry Second landed in
Ireland and allowed Dermott to recruit soldiers and mercenaries. As
(04:18):
Ireland was made up of several kingdoms at war with
each other, the city of Dublin and the surrounding area
were under Norman occupation and would be called the.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Pale or the safe zone.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Going beyond that was considered foolish, hence the term we
used today going beyond the Pale. Following the Battle of
Kinsale in sixteen oh one, when the Irish had Spanish
alliance was defeated, the Irish aristocracy fled to Europe, but
the commoners remained. After nearly a decade, King James the
(04:49):
First of England gave permission for the English Governor General
to collect and sell the captured Irish soldiers as slaves
and send them to the New World in the Americas. Twelve,
the first recorded Irish slaves were sold, possibly to the Portuguese,
and taken to the Amazon River basin in their colony
in modern day Brazil. This brought them to the New World.
(05:11):
There has been some dispute as to whether these people
were indentured servants or slaves, but it is clear that
they were forced out of Ireland to the New World,
so it seems illogical and ridiculous to assume that they
went voluntarily, hence the status of slaves. It has been
chronicled that in sixteen twenty five, James the First's son,
(05:32):
Charles the First, issued the decree, but given the timeline
on James's death, it would appear that his son Charles
probably did issue the world decree authorizing the Irish slaves.
This included prisoners captured, those deemed to be common criminals
and rabble rousers who were sold. They were to become
the property of the English plantation owners in the North
(05:52):
American colonies. As a result, tens of thousands of Irish
men and women were sent to the Eastern American colonies
as well as Guiana, Antigua, and Montserrat as well between
sixteen twenty nine and sixteen thirty two, as other Caribbean
locations over the next few decades were infiltrated. By sixteen
(06:13):
thirty seven, approximately sixty nine percent of the population of
Montserrat were Irish. Many were indentured servants, yet some were slaves.
The rationale was simple. Black slaves had to be purchased
at a cost of around twenty to fifty pounds sterling,
a huge sum of money in those days. However, Irish
slaves were sold for nine hundred pounds of cotton per person,
(06:34):
but also traded for tobacco and indigo in a straight
barter system. The Irish then became the largest source of
slaves for English slave traders and plantation owners, far surpassing
the African slave trade until the early to mid seventeen hundreds.
Between sixteen forty one, during the Irish Rebellion to sixteen
fifty two, over five hundred and fifty thousand Irish were
(06:58):
killed by English forces, and three hundred thousand more were
sold as slaves, mostly military aged men. Their children, especially
women and girls, were sold and considered quite valuable in
the domestic service role. The greatest perpetrator of this was
Oliver Cromwell, who defeated Charles the First in sixteen forty
nine during the English Civil War and had him executed. Cromwell,
(07:21):
as Lord Protector, waged a ruthless war against the Irish
starting in sixteen forty nine. By sixteen fifty it is
claimed that nearly twenty nine thousand Irish were sold to
planters in Saint kitt during the decade of the sixteen fifties.
It is also claimed, as well as disputed, that around
one hundred thousand Irish children, generally from ten to fourteen
(07:42):
years of age, were taken from their parents and were
also sold and sold themselves also as slaves or indentured
servants in the West Indies, Virginia, the Carolinas and New England.
Between sixteen fifty one and sixteen sixty the Irish slaves
far outnumbered the colonists in all areas. In sixteen fifty two,
(08:03):
Cromwell ordered that twelve thousand Irish were to be sold
to Barbadoes on one May sixteen fifty four. His to
Hell or to Connocht Proclamation was issued during the Active
Settlement of sixteen sixty two. This was when the English
began confiscating all Irish held lands, and the native Irish
were relocated west of the Shannon River. Those who resisted
(08:24):
were sent to the West Indies as slaves or executed.
His own words proclaimed, those who failed to transplant themselves
into Connacht or County Claire with us six months shall
be attained of high treason, or to be sent to
America or other parts beyond the seas. Those banished who
return ought to suffer the pains of death as felons.
(08:45):
By virtue of this act, without benefit of clergy, the
English could kill the Irish without penalty, but selling them
offered great profit. It is claimed that over eighty thousand
more Irish were sold, with fifty two thousand going to
the These are Barbadoes and Virginia. Many argued that these
were indentured servants, not slaves. Yet there are no records
(09:06):
of contracts between those forcibly removed and their benefactors. One
may assume that given the barter system of using tobacco
and cotton as a trade item for workers, that these
deported Irish were in fact slaves. In sixteen fifty six,
the Council of State ordered the roundup of one thousand
Irish girls and one thousand Irish boys in their early teens,
(09:27):
even some children, to be rounded up and sold to
Jamaican planters.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
As these would be children whose.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Parents were already deported, the persons were Irish, and no
indentured servant would be released to go to Jamaica. These
had to be forcibly exported Irish who were already present
in New York. So, whether one accepts the reality of
Irish slavery or not, the fact remains that there were
Irish people forced into slavery. Therefore, those transported unwillingly and
(09:57):
effectively sold were not considered to be indentured.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
These deported Irish were in fact slaves.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
And a terrific job on the production editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler. By the way, Colin Heaton
and his buddy Mike Droberg do terrific work on their
YouTube channel Forgotten History. His type Forgotten History on the
YouTube bar and you'll find all of their great work.
The line that tells it all. The English could kill
(10:24):
the Irish without penalty. They could be sold profitably. That
explains slavery throughout the world. It's so much more than
skin colored slavery. It's about war, it's about the vulnerable,
and it was always and still is about profit. The
story of the Irish being the first slaves in America.
(10:46):
Here on our American Stories.
And we continue with our American stories. There's been an
ongoing debate as to whether the Irish were the first
slaves in the Americas, pre dating the first Black African
slaves by almost a decade. Our next story comes to
us from Colin D. Heaton and Mike Droberg, two military
(00:30):
veterans and the founders of the terrific YouTube channel Forgotten History.
Their videos focus on military heroes, actions and events spanning
across the globe and are watched by hundreds of thousands
of people. Here's Colin Heaton with the story.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Some groups deny the Irish slavery under English and later
British rule, claiming that this was nothing more than voluntary,
intentioned servitude, which did exist. However, the official British legal
terminology used was indentured servants. Whether the servants in question
had willingly signed the indentured contract to immigrate to the
Americas or were first to go. Many were forced. Therefore,
(01:14):
those transported unwillingly and effectively sold were not considered to
be indentured. This included political prisoners, vagrants, convicts, political activists, thieves, prostitutes,
or people who had been defined as undesirable by the
English government. The Irish introduction to slavery was during the
(01:35):
first Viking rates in the year seven ninety five, lasting
through the mid ninth century. This period saw the Irish
killed and enslaved, just like many other societies, the Vikings attacked.
Most of these early raids were along the northern and
eastern coast, using hit and run tactics. The Vikings would
then flee with treasure and slaves and returned to either
(01:57):
their holdings in Scotland or back to Norway. Usually, many
slaves who were of value were ransomed back to their families,
but others remained in captivity. Then, from the year eight
thirty seven onward, larger targets such as the greater monastic
towns of Armagh, Glendallah, Kildare, Slain, Clonard and Clonmacnoi's and
(02:19):
Lismore were hit by larger forces. These large scale rage
generally spare the smaller local churches and villages far Inland,
but slaves were still taken, mostly to Scotland and Iceland.
In eight seventy five, Irish slaves in Iceland launched Europe's
largest slave rebellion since the end of the Roman Empire,
when Holfierff Holmarston's slaves killed him and fled to Vetsmaniyar.
(02:43):
In eight forty one, the port that became known as
Dublin was taken and occupied by both Olaf and Ivar
the Boneless, and by eight fifty three this part of
Ireland was a Norse trading center and slaves were a
large part of it. But Irish resistance was not over
and nine eighty the Irish under Mail Seconal Macdomneil, King
(03:04):
of Meath, fought and managed to defeat the Vikings.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
And freed all of their slaves.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Some Vikings who remained assimilated and adapted to Christianity and
became part of Irish society. The final nail in the
coffin regarding Vikings holding land and taking slaves was in
ten fourteen at the Battle of Clontarf, when Brian Burrew,
High King of Ireland, attacked Dublin, aided by his allies
the Limerick Vikings. They fought other Irish ally to the
(03:31):
local Vikings in Dublin and Beru's force I and all
the slaves were again freed, thus ending the legacy of
constant Norse raids, whether from Danes or Norwegians. In eleven
fifty five, Pope Adrian the Fourth supposedly gave Henry the
Second of England a papal bull, granting the king the
authority to invade Ireland. However, many historians believed that.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
This authorization was a forgery.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Regardless, Adyrian's successor, Pope Alexander the Third, granted the lands
of ire Ireland to Henry the Second, although it was
not his land to give. The Normans were initially invited
to Ireland by Dermott macmurrah, the deposed King of Leinster.
In October eleven seventy one, King Henry Second landed in
Ireland and allowed Dermott to recruit soldiers and mercenaries. As
(04:18):
Ireland was made up of several kingdoms at war with
each other, the city of Dublin and the surrounding area
were under Norman occupation and would be called the.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Pale or the safe zone.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Going beyond that was considered foolish, hence the term we
used today going beyond the Pale. Following the Battle of
Kinsale in sixteen oh one, when the Irish had Spanish
alliance was defeated, the Irish aristocracy fled to Europe, but
the commoners remained. After nearly a decade, King James the
(04:49):
First of England gave permission for the English Governor General
to collect and sell the captured Irish soldiers as slaves
and send them to the New World in the Americas. Twelve,
the first recorded Irish slaves were sold, possibly to the Portuguese,
and taken to the Amazon River basin in their colony
in modern day Brazil. This brought them to the New World.
(05:11):
There has been some dispute as to whether these people
were indentured servants or slaves, but it is clear that
they were forced out of Ireland to the New World,
so it seems illogical and ridiculous to assume that they
went voluntarily, hence the status of slaves. It has been
chronicled that in sixteen twenty five, James the First's son,
(05:32):
Charles the First, issued the decree, but given the timeline
on James's death, it would appear that his son Charles
probably did issue the world decree authorizing the Irish slaves.
This included prisoners captured, those deemed to be common criminals
and rabble rousers who were sold. They were to become
the property of the English plantation owners in the North
(05:52):
American colonies. As a result, tens of thousands of Irish
men and women were sent to the Eastern American colonies
as well as Guiana, Antigua, and Montserrat as well between
sixteen twenty nine and sixteen thirty two, as other Caribbean
locations over the next few decades were infiltrated. By sixteen
(06:13):
thirty seven, approximately sixty nine percent of the population of
Montserrat were Irish. Many were indentured servants, yet some were slaves.
The rationale was simple. Black slaves had to be purchased
at a cost of around twenty to fifty pounds sterling,
a huge sum of money in those days. However, Irish
slaves were sold for nine hundred pounds of cotton per person,
(06:34):
but also traded for tobacco and indigo in a straight
barter system. The Irish then became the largest source of
slaves for English slave traders and plantation owners, far surpassing
the African slave trade until the early to mid seventeen hundreds.
Between sixteen forty one, during the Irish Rebellion to sixteen
fifty two, over five hundred and fifty thousand Irish were
(06:58):
killed by English forces, and three hundred thousand more were
sold as slaves, mostly military aged men. Their children, especially
women and girls, were sold and considered quite valuable in
the domestic service role. The greatest perpetrator of this was
Oliver Cromwell, who defeated Charles the First in sixteen forty
nine during the English Civil War and had him executed. Cromwell,
(07:21):
as Lord Protector, waged a ruthless war against the Irish
starting in sixteen forty nine. By sixteen fifty it is
claimed that nearly twenty nine thousand Irish were sold to
planters in Saint kitt during the decade of the sixteen fifties.
It is also claimed, as well as disputed, that around
one hundred thousand Irish children, generally from ten to fourteen
(07:42):
years of age, were taken from their parents and were
also sold and sold themselves also as slaves or indentured
servants in the West Indies, Virginia, the Carolinas and New England.
Between sixteen fifty one and sixteen sixty the Irish slaves
far outnumbered the colonists in all areas. In sixteen fifty two,
(08:03):
Cromwell ordered that twelve thousand Irish were to be sold
to Barbadoes on one May sixteen fifty four. His to
Hell or to Connocht Proclamation was issued during the Active
Settlement of sixteen sixty two. This was when the English
began confiscating all Irish held lands, and the native Irish
were relocated west of the Shannon River. Those who resisted
(08:24):
were sent to the West Indies as slaves or executed.
His own words proclaimed, those who failed to transplant themselves
into Connacht or County Claire with us six months shall
be attained of high treason, or to be sent to
America or other parts beyond the seas. Those banished who
return ought to suffer the pains of death as felons.
(08:45):
By virtue of this act, without benefit of clergy, the
English could kill the Irish without penalty, but selling them
offered great profit. It is claimed that over eighty thousand
more Irish were sold, with fifty two thousand going to
the These are Barbadoes and Virginia. Many argued that these
were indentured servants, not slaves. Yet there are no records
(09:06):
of contracts between those forcibly removed and their benefactors. One
may assume that given the barter system of using tobacco
and cotton as a trade item for workers, that these
deported Irish were in fact slaves. In sixteen fifty six,
the Council of State ordered the roundup of one thousand
Irish girls and one thousand Irish boys in their early teens,
(09:27):
even some children, to be rounded up and sold to
Jamaican planters.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
As these would be children whose.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Parents were already deported, the persons were Irish, and no
indentured servant would be released to go to Jamaica. These
had to be forcibly exported Irish who were already present
in New York. So, whether one accepts the reality of
Irish slavery or not, the fact remains that there were
Irish people forced into slavery. Therefore, those transported unwillingly and
(09:57):
effectively sold were not considered to be indentured.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
These deported Irish were in fact slaves.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
And a terrific job on the production editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler. By the way, Colin Heaton
and his buddy Mike Droberg do terrific work on their
YouTube channel Forgotten History. His type Forgotten History on the
YouTube bar and you'll find all of their great work.
The line that tells it all. The English could kill
(10:24):
the Irish without penalty. They could be sold profitably. That
explains slavery throughout the world. It's so much more than
skin colored slavery. It's about war, it's about the vulnerable,
and it was always and still is about profit. The
story of the Irish being the first slaves in America.
(10:46):
Here on our American Stories.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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