During the 1650s, over 100,000 Irish children aged 10 to 14 were taken from their parents and sold as slaves in the West Indies,
During the 1650s, over 100,000 Irish children aged 10 to 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. Still 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 avoid calling the Irish slaves called what they really were: Slaves. They use words such as "indentured servants" to describe what happened to the Irish. However, in most cases from the 17th and 18th centuries, Irish slaves were nothing more than human cattle. The Irish Slave Trade – The Forgotten “White” Slaves The Slaves That Time Forgot. 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 ...