Slaves in Ireland.

During the 1650s decade of Cromwell’s Reign of Terror, over 100,000 Irish children, generally from 10 to 14 years old, were taken from Catholic parents and sold as slaves in the West Indies, Virginia and New England. In fact, more Irish were sold as slaves to the American colonies and plantations from 1651 to 1660 than the total existing “free” population of the Americas!

Slaves in antiquity.

Solon freeing a slave. In fact slaves were rarely freed. They were castrated and chained, branded and sometimes blinded. Handsome young men and boys were used as sex slaves, while most women were sexually abused, placed in brothels and their children killed at birth.

St Patrick, born Maewyn Succat (Latin: Magonus Succetus) was a slave in Ireland.

That slavery pure and simple existed in Ireland in early times we know from the law-books as well as from history; and that it continued to a comparatively late period is proved by the testimony of Giraldus Cambrensis - twelfth century-who relates that it was a common custom among the English to sell their children and other relatives to the Irish for slaves - Bristol being the great mart for the trade. From this, as well as from our own records, we see that some slaves were imported. But the greater number were native Irish, who, from various causes had lost their liberty and had been reduced to a state of slavery.

http://insidetv.blogspot.com/

The Proclamation of 1625 ordered that Irish political prisoners be transported overseas and sold as laborers to English planters, who were settling the islands of the West Indies, officially establishing a policy that was to continue for two centuries. In 1629 a large group of Irish men and women were sent to Guiana, and by 1632, Irish were the main slaves sold to Antigua and Montserrat in the West Indies. By 1637 a census showed that 69% of the total population of Montserrat were Irish slaves, which records show was a cause of concern to the English planters. But there were not enough political prisoners to supply the demand, so every petty infraction carried a sentence of transporting, and slaver gangs combed the country sides to kidnap enough people to fill out their quotas.

Although African Negroes were better suited to work in the semi-tropical climates of the Caribbean, they had to be purchased, while the Irish were free for the catching, so to speak. It is not surprising that Ireland became the biggest source of livestock for the English slave trade.

The Confederation War broke out in Kilkenny in 1641, as the Irish attempted to throw out the English yet again, something that seem to happen at least once every generation. Sir Morgan Cavanaugh of Clonmullen, one of the leaders, was killed during a battle in 1646, and his two sons, Daniel and Charles (later Colonel Charles) continued with the struggle until the uprising was crushed by Cromwell in 1649. It is recorded that Daniel and other Carlow Kavanaghs exiled themselves to Spain, where their descendants are still found today, concentrated in the northwestern corner of that country. Young Charles, who married Mary Kavanagh, daughter of Brian Kavanagh of Borris, was either exiled to Nantes, France, or transported to Barbados… or both. Although we haven’t found a record of him in a military life in France, it is known that the crown of Leinster and other regal paraphernalia associated with the Kingship of Leinster was brought to France, where it was on display in Bordeaux, just south of Nantes, until the French Revolution in 1794. As Daniel and Charles were the heirs to the Leinster kingship, one of them undoubtedly brought these royal artifacts to Bordeaux.

In the 12 year period during and following the Confederation revolt, from 1641 to 1652, over 550,000 Irish were killed by the English and 300,000 were sold as slaves, as the Irish population of Ireland fell from 1,466,000 to 616,000. Banished soldiers were not allowed to take their wives and children with them, and naturally, the same for those sold as slaves. The result was a growing population of homeless women and children, who being a public nuisance, were likewise rounded up and sold. But the worse was yet to come.

In 1649, Cromwell landed in Ireland and attacked Drogheda, slaughtering some 30,000 Irish living in the city. Cromwell reported: “I do not think 30 of their whole number escaped with their lives. Those that did are in safe custody in the Barbados.” A few months later, in 1650, 25,000 Irish were sold to planters in St. Kitt. During the 1650s decade of Cromwell’s Reign of Terror, over 100,000 Irish children, generally from 10 to 14 years old, were taken from Catholic parents and sold as slaves in the West Indies, Virginia and New England. In fact, more Irish were sold as slaves to the American colonies and plantations from 1651 to 1660 than the total existing “free” population of the Americas!

Most Australians are owed an apology from the English nobility for the treatment of their English Irish, Welsh and Scottish peasant ancestors who were slaves in all but name.

While we are apologizing; the Danes and Norwegians owe the British and Irish an apology for kidnapping many of their citizens and selling them into slavery around the world during the early Middle Ages.

The Irish owe the British an apology for their slaving during the Dark Ages when Britons like St. Patrick were used as slaves in Ireland.

The Italians owe every nationality an apology for the ancient Romans. Rome, while not built in a day, was built in by slaves of every race the Romans encountered.

The problem of course, is that we are all descended from both the slaves and the slave masters. Anyone in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, or Africa who could accurately trace their ancestry back 100 generations (give or take 2,000 years), would find many slaves and slave owners in their bloodline. Those who claim a monopoly on being descended from oppressed people are con artists; those who feel historical guilt are ignorant.Bristol was sending English slaves to Ireland in the 11th century. The great St Wulfstan, then Bishop of Worcester, preached in Bristol against the practice, and on one occasion a slave merchant had his eyes put out by an angry mob.

Unfortunately the Arabs and Moors won't have to pay much compo for the descendants of the black African slaves sold at the great markets in Marrakesh and Cairo. As the males were all castrated (killing about 1 out of 3) and the females were all used for service of every kind (their male children also being castrated), after a few generations there were no recognisibly 'black African' people descended from the original slaves.

If Queen Elizabeth I had lived in the 20th Century. she would have been viewed with the same horror as Hitler and Stalin. Her policy of Irish genocide was pursued with such evil zest it boggles the mind of modern men. But Elizabeth was only setting the stage for the even more savage program that was to follow her, directed specifically to exterminate the Irish. James II and Charles I continued Elizabeth�s campaign, but Cromwell almost perfected it. Few people in modern so-called �civilized history� can match the horrors of Cromwell in Ireland. It is amazing what one man can do to his fellow man under the banner that God sanctions his actions!

During the reign of Elizabeth I, English privateers captured 300 African Negroes, sold them as slaves, and initiated the English slave trade. Slavery was, of course, an old established commerce dating back into earliest history. Julius Caesar brought over a million slaves from defeated armies back to Rome. By the 16th century, the Arabs were the most active, generally capturing native peoples, not just Africans, marching them to a seaport and selling them to ship owners. Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish ships were originally the most active, supplying slaves to the Spanish colonies in America. It was not a big business in the beginning, but a very profitable one, and ship owners were primarily interested only in profits. The morality of selling human beings was never a factor to them.

After the Battle of Kinsale at the beginning of the 17th century, the English were faced with a problem of some 30,000 military prisoners, which they solved by creating an official policy of banishment. Other Irish leaders had voluntarily exiled to the continent, in fact, the Battle of Kinsale marked the beginning of the so-called �Wild Geese�, those Irish banished from their homeland. Banishment, however, did not solve the problem entirely, so James II encouraged selling the Irish as slaves to planters and settlers in the New World colonies. The first Irish slaves were sold to a settlement on the Amazon River In South America in 1612. It would probably be more accurate to say that the first �recorded� sale of Irish slaves was in 1612, because the English, who were noted for their meticulous record keeping, simply did not keep track of things Irish, whether it be goods or people, unless such was being shipped to England. The disappearance of a few hundred or a few thousand Irish was not a cause for alarm, but rather for rejoicing. Who cared what their names were anyway, they were gone.

..........................

America's nonviolent prisoner population exceeds the combined general population of Alaska and Wyoming. 2002 statistics

America's nonviolent prisoner population is three times the violent and nonviolent prisoner populations of the entire European Union. Those nations have a combined general population of 370 million people, compared to America's population of 274 million.

America's 1.2 million nonviolent prisoners is five times the number of people held in India's entire prison system, even though India is a country with roughly four times our population. The growth of America's prison system has become so large that it has spawned numerous family support and advocacy groups which were unthinkable 20 years ago. For example, this study comes a day before scores of people whose family members are incarcerated for nonviolent crimes will convene in Washington for a national gathering of Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

"The scale of this problem has become truly massive, with populations the size of several states now behind bars" said Julie Stewart of Families Against Mandatory Minimums. "But each one of them is an individual human being, who has left behind a family and loved ones. The statistics are merely a backdrop to their continuing loss."

From April 11 - 18, a newly-created organization called Critical Resistance is preparing a series of prison visitations at institutions around the country to highlight the overuse of incarceration. "Between mandatory minimums and increasing construction, we are on a collision course with our childrenís future," stated Ellen Barry of Critical Resistance. "It is time for us to focus more on improving our system of education than expanding our prison industry."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Family members of people imprisoned for non-violent offenses can be reached through the FAMM conference organizers at (202) 822-6700. The Justice Policy Institute is a private, nonprofit research and policy institute based in Washington, DC. This research was conducted with a grant from the Center on Crime, Communities and Culture.