‘Irish slaves’: the convenient myth

[BrianB]

Originally Posted by Horse Chestnut

Every reference I've seen so far, in this thread anyway, say the "Irish slaves" were used in the Caribbean.

In post #7 fritz1980 posted the following example that claims there were Irish slaves in the US, not the Caribbean:

Originally Posted by fitz1980

Here it is.

Although it was claimed to be in the US of Irish slaves they weren't slaves or even indentured servants and it was in Barbados and not the US. And from the Debunking the imagery of the "Irish slaves"meme article:

7. Former Enslaved Children in New Orleans, 1864

The comfort and ease at which some Irish and Irish-Americans appropriate the history of black chattel slavery is remarkable and disturbing. Guilty of the appropriation below is the "Ireland Long Held in Chains" Facebook page. They shared this photo of former "white" slave children in New Orleans and labelled it "Irish Slavery — Three Slaves". This piece of anti-slavery propaganda during the American Civil War was aimed at a Northern white audience.

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10. Timucua men cultivating a field and Timucua women planting corn or beans (Florida, c. 1560)

This image of the Timucua people planting their fields appears on some "Irish slaves" and "white slaves" blogs. The Neo-Confederate Save Your Heritage website frames it as "white slaves" working in South Carolina.

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12. Breaker boys working in Ewen Breaker of Pennsylvania Coal Co. (1911)


This is the newest version of the racist meme. It appeared online during Black History Month 2016 and has been shared 102,000 times so far. The photo does not depict "Irish slaves" but breaker boys working in Ewen Breaker of Pennsylvania Coal Co., South Pittston, Pennsylvania.

Originally Posted by Horse Chestnut

That's a long way from the cotton fields and mansions of Georgia.

All the examples above specifically claim that it took place in the US or Colonial America. In fact, of the 14 examples shown in the Debunking the imagery of the "Irish slaves" meme article the majority claim to show Irish slaves in the US and Colonial America, not the Caribbean.

Originally Posted by GenYus234

I would guess that someone saw an article about the use of Irish indentured servants in "the Americas" meaning N and S America and the Caribbean and took that to mean the US.

The OP article mentions that the Irish slave myth started with the claims that it took place in the Caribbean. However, the article also mentions the myth quickly transitioned to claims it took place in the US and Colonial America too. I have no idea how that transition happened. I would like to know, though.

Brian

[ganzfeld]

I don't think many of these are due to some kind of innocent mistake like they read "Americas" and think it was the US. The people who make these don't care about the truth of these photos much - if they care about true history at all. They just want them to be spread.