The Proof There Were Irish Slaves in 1700, or Indentured Slavery Is Still Slavery

That thousands of Irish people were carried across the sea against their will and indentured to serve on plantations isn’t disputed. It happened. What’s in question is whether or not they are rightly referred to as “slaves.” Some writers, such as genealogist and Irish Times columnist John Grenham, ask why not: “The labor they did was slave labor, and their circumstances were much worse than those of the indentured workers who traveled at the same time and later, not least because indentured work, though often harsh, was voluntary and time-limited. Refusing to call them slaves is quibbling.” Before the end of the seventeenth century, indentured slaves did not have better lives than chattel slaves— in some cases, they had worse. As noted at  <a href="https://comrademorlock.medium.com/the-proof-there-were-irish-slaves-in-1700-or-indentured-slavery-is-still-slavery-5c707111aa45">Read More</a>