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To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland

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Being an Irish history buff, one day I had come along an interesting bit of Irish history, about a time period during the slave trade years, where there was a great deal of Irish slaves. Yet, I could only find this information on websites with bibliographies of books that are rare or no longer existant. Yet, I had the fortunate luck of stumbling across this book here on Amazon.com. I must say, it was everything and more than I asked for. Detailed accounts of the invasion of Ireland by Cromwell and his forces, the brutal savagery and overall genocide committed by these men. The detailed accounts of how the slaves were sold on the auction block, how they were looked down upon by even the other slaves, since they were white.

I highly reccommend this book to any Irish history buffs like myself or any students doing a report on Irish history.

It is sad that the average American history book sums up Cromwell's attrocities as "Cromwell treated the Irish very poorly". This book brings to light the extent of the savagery done upon the Irish, and does great justice in explaining the time known as the Irish Holocaust.

The nonfiction book "To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland" by Sean O'Callaghan describes a moment in history that very few know about. In the seventeenth century, Oliver Cromwell (who took over England) encouraged the mass slaughter and enslavement of Irish men, women, and children for various reasons, one being that the Protestant English regarded the Catholic Irish as inhuman and unchristian.

According to O'Callaghan, many Irish priests were hunted down like wolves and Irish soldiers exiled to Spain or France, while rebels and widows alike were forcibly sent to Barbados in the Caribbean as indentured servants or slaves. Over 50,000 people were sent to Barbados to work on the sugar plantations. This book chronicles what happened to them. Beatings, whippings, torture, rape, and humiliation were just some of the terrible indecencies that these people suffered because they were Catholic and Irish.

The book itself is short, well written, and easy to read. The narrative moves from Cromwell's battles in Ireland* to the treatment of the surviving Irish to exportation to the Caribbean and indentured servitude/white slavery to modern-day descendants of the Irish on Barbados. In between, you will get a detailed and informative account of life in the seventeenth century while at war in the UK and as plantation owners and slaves in the Caribbean. There is even a chapter on Irish buccaneers (pirates).

*Please note you may want to look up who Oliver Cromwell was before you read this, as the book jumps straight into the action without too much political/biographical background.

I read this book quickly. It was fascinating, yet horrifying and thoroughly depressing. It is also eye-opening history. I highly recommended it to anyone interested in Caribbean, Irish, or English history, as well as for those interested in the slave trade or religious conflicts.

The book was an eye opener. I thought I had an understanding of Irish history. I was astonished and outraged. The purpose of the book is to reveal the true outrages that caused the multigeneration enmity between the Irish and English and succeeds. No one can understand the present situation in No. Ireland without it.

The book was well referenced, even sighting English historical information to substanciate the truth. 50-100,000 Irish women sold into prostitution and slavery by the same English traders, god-fearing puritan's, who sold African's into slavery. No reference to this in modern history books.

I never knew that the Irish were made literal slaves by the English or the extent of the ethnic and religious hatred and the genocide perpetrated by the British against them. The slaughter and genocide perpetrated has been squelched in the press and media for centuries.

It leaves me with the question of what kind of a media do we have in the U.S. that has kept this imformation from us?

Numerous American's of many ethnic groups have told me that I was lying, it didn't happen just like the holocaust. I was dumb struck and had to bring in the book to prove it too them. It begs the question: What's with diversity in this country does if it only goes one way?

Its a book any one who believes in real diversity should read. You can't understand the present Irish situation between the IRA and the UDL without it.

EXCELLENT

This is an excellent history of slavery imposed upon the Irish by the British government. This history of white slavery is frequently ignored.
The first chapters with detailed histories battles in Ireland are somewhat too complex. However, when the author gets to the story of slavery, the gathering of mostly women and children to serve as slaves in Barbados, the writing is excellent.
English power under Cromwell clearly did not consider the Irish as humans. The captives were treated almost like animals. The imposition of slavery shows well how an ideology of superiority can turn to cruelty, starvation, and oppression. While we tend to think of slavery in terms of racial groups, this work shows that racial groups are defined (socially constructed). To the English, the Irish were a racially inferior group.

O'Callaghan, Sean. To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland. Dingle, County Kerry: Brandon Books, Mount Eagle Publications, 2000.

Sean O'Callaghan, a former member of the Irish Republican Army, gives an unblinking historical account of the vicious brutality of Cromwell's invasion of Ireland. He also shines a bright light on the British abhorrence of Irish Catholics, citing English pamphlets during the civil war that portrayed Irish Catholics as intellectually and morally inferior. O'Callaghan goes on to detail the systematic, decimation of Irish defenders and the relentless persecution of the innocent others who were transported to Barbados to face forced labor on sugar plantations as slaves. In his description of Irish transport to Barbados, O'Callaghan includes an account that is no less hellish than the horror of the African middle passage. O'Callaghan provides stark accounts of the misery of Irish life on Barbados, describing white slavery and forced labor on sugar plantations. He also gives us a look into the several Irish uprisings in Barbados and the brutality of how the British countered them, employing court-sanctioned torture and executions. O'Callaghan expands his account to include the Irish in Jamaica and America and progresses through emancipation and restoration. He concludes with The Red Legs of Barbados, Irish and Scottish slave descendants and their present-day heirs.

I read Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl a few months ago where I was introduced to the history of Irish Slavery on Barbados. I'm not a history buff and generally do not read non-fiction. Nonetheless, I bought this book because of the reviews and I found myself interested in the subject matter.

After I got through the first chapter I became thoroughly engrossed in the book and was not able to stop reading it.

The author did noticeably repeat a few of his facts throughout the book, but the items were generally repeated because they were relevant in more than one place. His arguments were sometimes made in a manner that made me wonder if he was creating his own history, or if I was getting a picture of what really happened. I would have prefered him to have made his arguments more convincingly and as if they were fact. But, I suppose it is also great to know that there is limited information and he is interpreting the information.

I may just give up reading fiction and switch to history if it is all this interesting. It was a hard book to read. I can not believe people could do this to one another. I suppose that is why is was so gripping.

How many of you were taught about the Irish slaves that worked the tobacco and sugar cane fields of the Americas and the British West Indies in school? Didn't think so. An excellent read on the ethnic cleansing of the Papist Irish during the Cromwellian reign. An excellent read.

As the Irish finally threaten to allow themselves become assimilated, this book - by an Irish journalist who worked on Fleet Street, and cannot be accused of blind anti-Britishness - stresses how vitally important it is that our anti-colonial impetus be maintained


I review this book at much greater length in my forthcoming "Ireland: A colony once again?".

Seán O Nualláin Ph.D. 4u Meitheamh (san tSin 35 Bealtaine) 2009

One of the few books I've been able to find on this important, forgotten era of our Irish-American history. A fantastic, quick (albeit depressing!) read. Of course, Amazon's service was great as usual too... Love shopping online - no need to talk to anyone!

this is a wonderful book on the little know occurrence of the British shipping the Irish people as slaves to the west indies.