Caribbean Irish

Irish 'Slaves' in the Caribbean....

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" – by that I mean, they were called ‘Indentured servants’ but never the less they were treated as slaves and in many cases worse than the Black slaves.   After all, the indentured servants were far cheaper and no one cared what happened to them.  The black slaves were an expensive means of labour whilst the Irish were cheap.

It all goes back to Elizabeth First when she banished the Irish Earls (O’Neill and O’Donnell) and their clans from Ireland.   Their vast lands, predominantly in Ulster and Northern Ireland, were confiscated and given out to those in favour.   So the ‘plantation’ of Ireland began.   The results still resound today although thank God, peace has held for many years since the ‘Good Friday Agreement’.

In the 1600’s the native/nationalist Irish rebelled against the newcomers.  At first the majority were executed but soon the British realised that with a little offer of survival, a large profit could be made from the prisoners.   They were offered ‘Indenture’ status whereby if they paid for their own travel, they would be sent to primarily the West Indies and sold into the sugar cane industry.   Most of the men and boys were used in the fields as labour whilst the women and ‘used’ as servants.

The first of thousands were sent to Montserrat, an island in the Caribbean, which was heavily involved in the sugar cane industry.   This island was the territory of the United Kingdom.  My old nemesis Oliver Cromwell (spit and curse at the mention of his name) was heavily involved from an early stage and I would not be in the slightest doubt that it was in fact his idea.

A slight variation to his statement ‘To hell or to Connaught’ when he confiscated all the rich land in Ireland and sent the tenants to the West of Ireland where the land was poor and incapable of providing enough food.   A relative statement by him could as a result of his actions, read ‘To hell or to the West Indies’. 

In any event, the first droves were sent to Montserrat.   Because of the Irish influence and the marriages between the Irishmen and black women, it became known as the ‘Emerald Island of the Caribbean’.   Oddly enough, any children born to these marriages immediately became actual slaves.  

The present inhabitants have an almost fanatical love for the Irish way of life and celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day even better than the Irish people back in Ireland.   The celebrations go on for a week and the day itself is a national holiday.  Their flag has a woman with a harp and cross on it.   The national emblem is a shamrock.   Many of those who live in ‘foreign countries’ fanatically celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and take part in parades.   Most of the population of Montserrat speak English but with a distinct Irish brogue..

Finally, the ‘Indenture’ usually lasted for five to seven years but not many managed to survive and return to Ireland.   Many died from heat related illnesses whilst others remained and became very wealthy.  Some even became plantation owners.

A similar indenture procedure was ‘used’ in the tobacco growing industry in the United States of America.

It should be noted that many thousands of Irish people voluntarily immigrated to Montserrat to work in the sugar industry and in fact almost half the population in the seventeenth century was Irish....................

----------Mike--------