Having read conflicting stories about the white slave trade in America i felt compelled to do further research and find out for myself. I came across a statement saying 300,000 irish slaves were sent to america during the 17th century. Is this true? No.
Was there Irish slaves in America ? Officially there was never Irish slaves there but they were quite similar, they were classified as indentured servants. While brittain ruled ireland in the 17th century, Cromwell had a policy of transportation when it came to convicts, although many people deported to foreign lands were merely sent for financial reasons. This included women and children. . Many were sold to Brittish colonies elite in the new found land. This policy was abondoned in the late 17th century due to it being abused my merchants. In total there was an esitimated 10,000 to 12,000 indentured servants in the 17th century in comparison to 1.8million Africans.
Difference between an indentured servant and a slave? It was similar to slavery but it was temporary. They would get a specific sentance of time they would have to serve before their release. It was possible for them to apply for early release if they were mistreated although its unlikely this ever happened. It wasent hereditery either, a child born to an indentured servant was free unlike a the child of a slave who would be the property of the owner. Many more Irish went to america of their own choice in the same period and were often exploited for cheap labour and treated similar to slaves which led to misconception that there was alot of irish slaves.
