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Irish slaves myth

This article is about the conflation of Irish indentured servitude and African chattel slavery. For Irish taken as slaves, see Barbary slave trade. For the history of medieval slavery in Ireland, see Slavery in Ireland. For the general history of Irish indentured servants, see Irish indentured servants. For the history of the transportation of British convicts, see Penal transportation.

An Internet meme espousing the pseudohistorical narrative

The Irish slaves myth is a fringe pseudohistorical narrative that conflates the penal transportation and indentured servitude of Irish people during the 17th and 18th centuries, with the hereditary chattel slavery experienced by the forebears of the African diaspora.

Some white nationalists, and others who want to minimize the effects of hereditary chattel slavery on Africans and their descendants, have used this false equivalence to deny racism against African Americans[1] or claim that African Americans are too vocal in seeking justice for historical grievances.[2] It also can hide the facts around Irish involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.[3]

The myth has been in circulation since at least the 1990s and has been disseminated in online memes and social media debates.[4] According to historians Jerome S. Handler and Matthew C. Reilly, "it is misleading, if not erroneous, to apply the term 'slave' to Irish and other indentured servants in early Barbados".[5] In 2016, academics and Irish historians wrote to condemn the myth.[6]

  1. ^ Fanning, Bryan (November 1, 2017). "Slaves to a Myth". Irish Review of Books (article). 102. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  2. ^ O'Carroll, Eoin (March 16, 2018). "No, the Irish were not slaves in the Americas". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Linehan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Stack, Liam (March 17, 2017). "Debunking a Myth: The Irish Were Not Slaves, Too". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NWIG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Pogachnik, Shawn (March 16, 2017). "AP FACT CHECK: Irish "slavery" a St. Patrick's Day myth". Associated Press News. Dublin. Retrieved August 19, 2024 – via Associated Press.

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