ex slaves to sue britain and ....???

[lawnseed]

I just saw this on the news. Caribbean ex-plantation slaves who can trace their records back to the country who enslaved them- mainly Britain are to sue for damages. many of them still live in terrible conditions on various Caribbean islands where they're ancestors lived as slaves working on plantations.. but ohh lord.. guess who else made mega bucks at that particular time kidnapping black fellas as they went about their business in Africa.. well it turns out that a lot of those bigshots who lived and still live behind huge estate walls with wee forelock pulling families living in gatehouses and thousands of serfs paying them rent may have a bill coming in the post.
while many of these gentry were and are Brits. just as many Irish were eager to cash in on the slave trade. of course none of them wanted to labeled slave traders so when they were asked how 'did' they earn a living the answer was "spice trader"
just look at many of the names common in black Caribbeans are Irish names like Murphy, O'Malley O'Hara etc all big names in the 'spice trade'. (check out 'gone with the wind' scarlett 'o hara' Rhett 'butler') While its highly unlikely that descendants of these nabobs are liable for the distress these people still find themselves in. the opening of these files/detailed records concerning the sale of slaves could prove embarrassing for many of the ruling classes still to the fore in Irish society

[Orior]

Could the slaves abducted from Baltimore in Cork by Africans sue as well?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Baltimore

[The Iceman]

There is a great booked called "to hell or Barbados " about the English abducting Irish women and children and young men and selling them into slavery to work on plantations in Barbados. Their ancestors exist today known as the red legs of Barbados.
I would be interested to know more about the background of the Irish people being sued. I would imagine they were transplants in to Ireland? Please post any more info or links you have on it. I really love all this history that is often overlooked

[Asal Mor]

There is a great booked called "to hell or Barbados " about the English abducting Irish women and children and young men and selling them into slavery to work on plantations in Barbados. Their ancestors exist today known as the red legs of Barbados.
I would be interested to know more about the background of the Irish people being sued. I would imagine they were transplants in to Ireland? Please post any more info or links you have on it. I really love all this history that is often overlooked

Damien Dempsey must have read that book too. He wrote a song about it and named the album after it. Apparently there are very few red legs left there now.

[lawnseed]

I dont think they intend to sue any individuals 'sins of the father' and all that.. But in order to sue the country they'll need names and dates. This is where ireland will probably side step the issue in terms of a fiancial penalty since we as a whole were under british rule at that time. But in saying that our slavers will still be named as "brits persay".
Back in the day crime and war were the way to land yourself a country pyle with 'slaves' of your own.
Slavery and distinguishing your self in battle were the diesel laundering of the day

[Lecale2]

Calling these people "ex-slaves" is hardly accurate.

[Keyser soze]

I dont think they intend to sue any individuals 'sins of the father' and all that.. But in order to sue the country they'll need names and dates. This is where ireland will probably side step the issue in terms of a fiancial penalty since we as a whole were under british rule at that time. But in saying that our slavers will still be named as "brits persay".
Back in the day crime and war were the way to land yourself a country pyle with 'slaves' of your own.
Slavery and distinguishing your self in battle were the diesel laundering of the day

It's "per se".

[Hardy]

I dont think they intend to sue any individuals 'sins of the father' and all that.. But in order to sue the country they'll need names and dates. This is where ireland will probably side step the issue in terms of a fiancial penalty since we as a whole were under british rule at that time. But in saying that our slavers will still be named as "brits persay".
Back in the day crime and war were the way to land yourself a country pyle with 'slaves' of your own.
Slavery and distinguishing your self in battle were the diesel laundering of the day

It's "per se".

I was just going to se that.

[armaghniac]

What about the feckin' Vikings who carried off our women to Iceland? I reckon we should be given Iceland's banks as compo.

[OakleafCounty]

There is a great booked called "to hell or Barbados " about the English abducting Irish women and children and young men and selling them into slavery to work on plantations in Barbados. Their ancestors exist today known as the red legs of Barbados.
I would be interested to know more about the background of the Irish people being sued. I would imagine they were transplants in to Ireland? Please post any more info or links you have on it. I really love all this history that is often overlooked

I read that book myself nearly a decade ago but it's one that I always remember, a great read for anyone into history. There was also white Scottish and English slaves sent to the Carribean and Virginia along with Irish slaves. The redlegs are possibly some of the poorest people in Barbados. Alchoholism and inbreeding have been a major problem though many have also integrated into society marrying Afro-Carribeans. I read before that Rhianna's granny was a Redleg.

Though I do think they have a right to sue the countries responsible for the slavetrade I don't know how successful they'll be. I think it's about time the countries and ancestors of people responsible for things like the slavetrade and indeed the export of food out of Ireland during the famine started to pay for the deeds of their ancestors.

[NAG1]

What about the feckin' Vikings who carried off our women to Iceland? I reckon we should be given Iceland's banks as compo.

Apparently that is myth and legend, some Viking Exhibition in London lately said that the Vikings were more settlers than pillagers. Slightly off topic but for any one interested, it did make some interesting reading. 

[The Iceman]

There is a great booked called "to hell or Barbados " about the English abducting Irish women and children and young men and selling them into slavery to work on plantations in Barbados. Their ancestors exist today known as the red legs of Barbados.
I would be interested to know more about the background of the Irish people being sued. I would imagine they were transplants in to Ireland? Please post any more info or links you have on it. I really love all this history that is often overlooked

I read that book myself nearly a decade ago but it's one that I always remember, a great read for anyone into history. There was also white Scottish and English slaves sent to the Carribean and Virginia along with Irish slaves. The redlegs are possibly some of the poorest people in Barbados. Alchoholism and inbreeding have been a major problem though many have also integrated into society marrying Afro-Carribeans. I read before that Rhianna's granny was a Redleg.

Though I do think they have a right to sue the countries responsible for the slavetrade I don't know how successful they'll be. I think it's about time the countries and ancestors of people responsible for things like the slavetrade and indeed the export of food out of Ireland during the famine started to pay for the deeds of their ancestors.

If I remember correctly the Jews had a part to play in it all...... they're worth a few bob.

If anyone has links to any online resources on this I'd appreciate it plus any names of books. I think the back and forth struggle to escape english rule oftentimes overshadowed a lot of what else went on. The story of the red legs really sat with me - my blood boiled reading it. I'd like to know more about lawnseeds original findings to see if we were guilty of the same thing.

[The Iceman]

This is the only article I found on it - regardless of the source it is interesting:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2451891/14-Caribbean-nations-sue-Britain-Holland-France-slavery-reparations.html
No mention of Ireland in it but I'll look some more.

[thejuice]

I think it's an absolutely absurd proposition and sets a dangerous precedent. It's also based on a narrow and blinkered view of history, Slavery was practiced on all continents by all people. It was largely down to technological and nautical advances that it reached a intercontinental scale. It was still as morally abhorant in the era of European colonialism as it was in any earlier period.

Shall we take down the pyramids now? The Taj Mahal? Angkor Wat? All built by slaves.

It should also be noted that the seeds of the Abolition movement were planted by the English parliament and the UK navy did a lot to stop the transatlantic trade of slaves.

So slavery funnily enough it seems the same country which probably did the most to end an abhorrent trade that went on for millennia will be the ones that punished here. And as ridiculous as I think it is I wouldn't be that surprised given the current thinking on the issue.

Of course there also this might be worth reading:
http://hnn.us/article/41431

[The Iceman]

Thanks for posting - very interesting article and some great insight into the downfall of man on every continent.
It seems that money and power was at the route of this evil everywhere. Although there should not be a hierarchy of victims or slaves I can't help but think that it was easier for the white man to enslave the black man and view them as a sub species or something different. I think that in those times it was an even worse crime to enslave your fellow Irish man, English man or African.... Again just ramblings and thoughts on the issue.
I am very interested in the black Irish and the slaves that washed up on the shores of Ireland from the Armada. There is a long and sad history of Irish slaves all over the world. I'd hate to think we sold our own (or anyone else for that matter).