There were hundreds of thousands of Scots sold into slavery during Colonial America. White slavery to the American Colonies occurred as early as 1630 in Scotland.
According to the Egerton manuscript, British Museum, the enactment of 1652: it may be lawful for two or more justices of peace within any county, citty or towne, corporate belonging to the commonwealth to from tyme to tyme by warrant cause to be apprehended, seized on and detained all and every person or persons that shall be found begging and vagrant.. in any towne, parish or place to be conveyed into the Port of London, or unto any other port from where such person or persons may be shipped into a forraign collonie or plantation.
The judges of Edinburgh Scotland during the years 1662-1665 ordered the enslavement and shipment to the colonies a large number of rogues and others who made life unpleasant for the British upper class. (Register for the Privy Council of Scotland, third series, vol. 1, p 181, vol. 2, p 101).
The above accounting sounds horrific but slavery was what the Scots have survived for a thousand years. The early ancestors of the Scots, Alba and Pics were enslaved as early as the first century BC. Varro, a Roman philosopher stated in his agricultural manuscripts that white slaves were only things with a voice or instrumenti vocali. Julius Caesar enslaves as many as one million whites from Gaul. (William D Phillips, Jr. SLAVERY FROM ROMAN TIMES TO EARLY TRANSATLANTIC TRADE, p. 18).
Pope Gregory in the sixth century first witnessed blonde hair, blue eyed boys awaiting sale in a Roman slave market. The Romans enslaved thousands of white inhabitants of Great Britain, who were also known as Angles. Pope Gregory was very interested in the looks of these boys therefore asking their origin. He was told they were Angles from Briton. Gregory stated, “Non Angli, sed Angeli.” (Not Angles but Angels).
The eighth to the eleventh centuries proved to be very profitable for Rouen France. Rouen was the transfer point of Irish and Flemish slaves to the Arabian nations. The early centuries AD the Scottish were known as Irish. William Phillips on page 63 states that the major component of slave trade in the eleventh century were the Vikings. They spirited many ‘Irish’ to Spain, Scandinavia and Russia. Legends have it; some ‘Irish’ may have been taken as far as Constantinople.
Ruth Mazo Karras wrote in her book, “SLAVERY AND SOCIETY IN MEDEIVEL SCANDINAVIA” pg. 49; Norwegian Vikings made slave raids not only against the Irish and Scots (who were often called Irish in Norse sources) but also against Norse settlers in Ireland or Scottish Isles or even in Norway itself…slave trading was a major commercial activity of the Viking Age. The children of the White slaves in Iceland were routinely murdered en masse. (Karras pg 52)
According to these resources as well as many more, the Scots-Irish have been enslaved longer than any other race in the world’s history. Most governments do not teach White Slavery in their World History classes. Children of modern times are only taught about the African slave trade.
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Read more @: http://www.fsos.com/Hist%20PDFS/whiteslave.pdf
Now I understand why my “English” anscestors were upset when some married “Irish.” I always thought it was just the religious differences. I had heard of Irish slavery from my mother, who’s descendents were Irish, but never saw anything in writing before. I really appreciate this. I am all for knowledge, and have compassion for the African slaves, but wish this info was made widely available, so all people could see that skin colour and station in life are not related. So often I am embarrassed to BE white; I want to say “I would never treat anyone better or worse based on skin colour” but it’s a slow process.
This is definitely an eye opener. We are all aware of the atrocities of the the Black Slave Trade and the effects are still seen today. But very few are are aware of the European slave trade. As an African-American, I think it’s high time we as all people start learning the full truth. We have been lied to and deceived on a monumental level. We are all connected and share a common thread (which explains why my paternal grandmother (PBUH) had a Scottish and Ancestry). I am always seeking the truth and I hope this important piece of history is spread and to told to the masses. The The Elite have been using the ‘Divide and Conquer’ scheme for far too long. The more we learn, the more we should use this as a tool to stop the madness, separation, violence and ill will towards each other. Knowledge is truly key and crucial if we are to break the bonds of ignorance, stupidity and bigotry.
This would explain a lot about my mother’s side (Scot-Irish). Noone has ever found out how they got here. They just seem to always have been. Reading this makes me wonder.
My ancestor was brought to this country and sold into slavery along with his three brothers. They came over in chains along with others Scots aboard the John and Sarah and sold at auction. They were part of the 10,000 Scots who surrendered at the Battle of Worcestor England in 1651. Cromwell sold all 10,000 into slavery in the Americas and the Barbados. Many of these Scots were bought by highlanders here and freed. Others ran away to the American frontier, and some even made it back to Scotland.The unlucky ones endured the same treatment as other American slaves. I have two degrees in history as well as other degrees in education. I always tell my students that if they take anything away with them from my class it should be that history lies. All history is politicaly based. To find the truth takes work and time. Oh so much time. The truth is different to different peoples. Being good or bad is not contained in one country, race, religion, or ethnic group. Good is everywhere as is being bad. America tries to be good and we are. America can and has been bad. We are not perfect nor should we expect perfection. Our worth however will be judged in how vigourous we seek perfection even though it s attainment is beyond our grasp.
^^Word!
I was only made aware of the many atrocities commited against both the Irish and Scottish peoples when I started my own geneological research (I’m mostly Scottish/Irish). I live in Canada, where the English empire perpetrated many attrocities and a physical and cultural genocide on the Native American people already here. I have seen how these actions have had consequences to this very day. Many Native people see all Europeans as “white” people who orchestrated all of their misery. What they do not realize, there is segments of the white population that experienced virtually the same types of oppression that they and African Amercian people have in the past. The English perfected their methods on the Scottish and Irish populations.
This may be a bad person to use as an example, but Idi Amin said that “The Scottish people are the least racist people he’s ever met.” He was a soldier in the English Imperial Army in Ughanda. His higher officers were English and his seargents were primarily Scots. He said, “An Englishman treats and African like a dog and a Scotsman will invite him to dinner.” These quotes are not exact, but that is the gist of what he said.
As a Canadian of Scottish descent I have long been aware there were many white slaves in America. My father’s father never spoke of how his ancestors got to North America but I do know they originated from the infamous slave port of Inverness. Also, my mother (who was English) told me many times that her grandfather was “black”. I saw a photo of him once but it was indistinct. Friends of African descent laugh at me since I am sooo white, lol.
Thanks for this site. It’s very encouraging to see this topic discussed instead of covered up as if it is a disgrace. Personally, I am proud to tell people that my ancestors were very likely slaves, some white and perhaps black as well.