The Briefing Room
General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => History => Topic started by: Sanguine on March 29, 2019, 04:03:22 pm
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(https://irishamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/FEATURE-Erlene-Downie-and-Betty-Fenty.jpg)
The Irish in Barbados have a long and troubled history. Pictured above are Erlene Downie (left) and Betty Fenty, who is the great aunt of singer Rihanna. All photos by Sheena Joley.
Photos and Article by Sheena Jolley, Contributor
October / November 2015
The descendants of Irish people sold into slavery in the 1600s live in a close-knit community beset by poverty and ill health.
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During the winter of 1636, a ship bearing a consignment of 61 men and women destined to be slaves on the plantations of Barbados slipped quietly out of Kinsale Harbor on Ireland’s rugged southern coast. By the time Captain Joseph West’s ship arrived in the Caribbean in January 1637, eight of the 61 had died. The remainder were sold, including ten to the governor of Barbados, for 450 pounds of sugar apiece. Captain West was instructed to return to London to sell the sugar and then proceed to Kinsale to procure another cargo of Irish slaves. That first small trickle soon became a human flood.
It was a lucrative business. An Irish white slave could be sold in Barbados for between £10 and £35....
https://irishamerica.com/2015/10/the-irish-of-barbados-photos/
I ran across this the other day. It's an interesting story.
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Thanks for posting..it was very interesting as I have never heard of these people...
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In a past life, I was a beach bum on Barbados for several months (yes, it's true). I saw these people but never knew their story. Thanks for posting.
BTW... there are beautiful people on the island who are a many-multi-generational blend of the races. Yes, I enjoyed it.
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I'm pretty darned sure that Irish slavery didn't just occur on the Island of Barbados!
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I'm pretty darned sure that Irish slavery didn't just occur on the Island of Barbados!
I’d say you are correct.
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Their Patriarchical White Priviledge wasn't worth much for these wretched souls, it seems.
Terms like "Mere Irish," and ni**ers of Europe" in living colour.
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Does this mean the Irish qualify for "reparashuns", too....?
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My husband's family should also qualify for reparations! There was an ancestor who served in a famous Vermont unit from 1862 to the end.
Give us the $$$$$; if some get it for being slaves, give it also to those who helped them get free! :beer:
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In a past life, I was a beach bum on Barbados for several months (yes, it's true). I saw these people but never knew their story. Thanks for posting.
BTW... there are beautiful people on the island who are a many-multi-generational blend of the races. Yes, I enjoyed it.
Dang it Lando...you make me jealous. I wish I could live as a beach bum on Barbados..today!!!
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Very interesting! In 2017 I met a gentleman in Barbados who is a Downie and VERY proud of his work as a gardener / landscaper at a resort where guests seek him out just to meet him. I had no idea re his background. If anyone is interested in hearing their accent, he is in this video in the beginning and at 2:35. Error 404 (Not Found)!!1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxpCl4m0_bM#)