Customer Reviews

They Were White and They Were Slaves: The Untold History of the Enslavement of Whites in Early America

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

As other reviewers have noted, this book is a barrage of facts that are a little rambling and disorganized, but this in NO WAY takes away from the interest of the subject matter that is presented in this volume.

Mr. Hoffman presents a rough outline of the history of the enslavement of whites in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, the Carribean and finally in America from Roman times to the begining of the 20th century. Documented are such details as:

-Slavery in ancient Greece and attitudes towards slaves there
-Arab traffic in white slave to the Middle East
-The Vikings' massive involvement in the slave trade during the middle ages
-White slavery and ethnic-cleansing in Ireland and Barbados under Oliver Cromwell
-Kidnapping of whites in Britain to bring to the Americas
-Child labor and gross working conditions in the mines and factories in America and Britain during the industrial revoloution.
-One of the most disturbing events documented here: the use of "human brooms" as chimney sweeps in England during the 1800's. These might be able to claim the worst status. The orphans who had to climb up chimneys filled with toxic dirt and soot weren't even paid to do so, they were forced to do that work and then BEG for a living.
-White slavery and white slave trade in colonial America. These whites were treated as more expendable then the African slaves because the slave ships had to go out of their way to pick up Africans.
-"Redneck," because whites had to work out in the fields in the sun so their skin would get tanned and burned.
-"Hillbilly," because when they were freed or escaped, the slaves had nowhere to live except in remote places in the backwoods and especially APPALACIA.
-The race politics presented here explain and elucidate the animostiy between blacks, lower class whites and the white slave-and-plantation owning aristocracy in the South.
-This one's the kicker: the word SLAVE actually comes from SLAV, the white peoples of Eastern Europe who were often raided and held in bondage by invaders.

This book is well worth getting a hand on and reading, because it proves that slavery is a universal condition that has been practiced against all races and nations of people, even against those traditionally portrayed (i.e. Anglo Saxons/whites) as being the slavemasters and oppressors.

I purchased this book, with great reluctance, as I thought it might be "racist" in nature. However, I found it most enlighting. It reveals, that slavery was never about race, but rather about labor. Labor was looked upon as a commodity to be bought and sold. My interest was from a genealogical and historical point. It alowed me to locate lines of my family both white, Irish and English that were sold on the auction block, in Barbados in the 1600's, along with other slaves who were black. It will further give great insight in the abusive child labor of 1800 England. For any and all it is a great read.

Not particularly well-written but the effort, the research and the stones to put it out there rate 5 stars. Modern Americans believe slavery to be an American sin and only a Southern sin at that. Well, The Negro in New England by Greene challnges that on the back end but the scope and sweep of slavery goes far beyond the development of the Western Hemisphere. It is a human scourge which is not only ancient but contemporary.It has impacted all times and all races.
What this volume trys to accomplish is to assemble facts and records to explain a story yet untold...white slavery. Was a slave less a slave because they were white or because it will send someone into roid rages if we even bring it up? "Indentured servitude" was NOT some enlighted apprenticeship program whereby people were redeemed, freed and released with land, tools, skills and a wide open future. A few of the more shocking facts:
* The "Slavs" of eastern Europe were thus named for the millinium of slavery they were subjected to by every conqueror that swept through the region; Celts, Greeks, Roman, Barbarians.
* Death rates on the Atlantic passage of white slaves exceeded that of African slaves
* The reason that only 6% of the African slaves brought to the Western Hemisphere ended up in what became the US is because there were enough white slaves to supply demand.
* The very word "kidnapping" has its roots in the colonial period when British children were stolen ("kidnabbed") and sent to the New World
Round out your understanding of this underplayed and ignored historical development by reading "Bound Over" by John Van Der Zee.(also VERY hard to find)
An excellent book remains to be written by someone who can write well and using some of the sources mentioned here. If we could see the full historical scope of slavery much of the modern vitriol and victimology could be set aside. Perhaps we could even focus on the real tragedy....25 million people are STILL in slavery today.

All of us hear some brief mention of "indentured servants" in courses about American history. These were people who were supposed to have voluntarily chosen to be bonded as apprentices to a master for a limited time in return for payment for the passage to America and learning a trade.

This book shows that the reality was very different. Most so-called indentured servants were forced into servitude involuntarily, sometimes as punishment for rather minor crimes and sometimes simply kidnapped off the streets. By various means the "limited time" of the indenture was lengthened, and many white people died as slaves. The fugitive slave laws so notoriously applied to black runaways in the 19th century actually originated to discourage white runaways in the 17th and 18th centuries.

This book does not diminish the importance or scale of black slavery, but does put it in the context of a society that for nearly two centuries was as willing to enslave whites as blacks.

A more scholarly follow up would be desirable -- one is left wanting to know some more quantitative facts, such as the actual numbers of whites transported each decade, and their percentage of the population. But this book will do nicely as a way of opening people's eyes to a part of our history that is usually ignored.

Mention slavery in American history and no doubt you will conjure up visions of middle passage slave ships feeding the rotting black bodies to the sharks, abusive slave owners on southern plantations and perhaps even Kunta Kinta being whipped at the stake for refusing his newly assigned name. Few people would even entertain the notion of white slaves in American history, but Michael Hoffman's 1993 book, THEY WERE WHITE AND THEY WERE SLAVES exposes little known facts about the abhorrent practice of slave owning in America.

Hoffman's books goes far beyond slavery in the United States, however, giving an indepth chronicle of white slavery throughout history. The book begins with the Greeks and continues on with white slavery by the Romans, the Arabs, who also implemented the practice of slave castration, the Franks, Vikings, African Kings, and yes, American colonials and eventually, American Indians.

Hoffman also gives an indepth explanation as to why white slavery in American history has been all but swept under the rug. The book is well written, very well researched and lends critical understanding to anyone who truly wants to have an informed and balanced view of our slavery history.

When I first opened the package containing this book, I was shocked by its small size, given it's not so small price. Nonetheless, once I began reading it I could not put it down. This is the untold story of white slavery, and makes a perfect companion to another much weightier tome I'm reading called "The Slave Trade," by Hugh Thomas, which focuses on black slavery. This side of slavery, that it was NOT inherently a racist institution, that the racism came later, is vital in understanding this important historical phenomenon. It also helps ameliorate the racial tension that usually attends discussion of slavery in the United States.

That said, there are a few passages in the book, and some terminology, that could easily lead the reader to believe that this author has a racist agenda. I would not assert that myself, as there is nothing untrue or slanted in his actual account, but it would not surprise me to learn that he did not believe in racial mixing. Again, this is speculative, but I urge potential readers not to be put off by this remark, as the content and history are far too important to be lost in such latter-day controversy. Read it for the history. Then read "the Slave Trade."

The book "They Were White and They Were Slaves" is no doubt controversial. Definitely, it will lift up some people's eyebrows,and make their faces turn red when picking up this masterful work of revisionism. However, no matter how truthful it maybe, there will obviously be conscientious objectors to it. For instance, after taking a cursory thru Hoffman's web site, admittedly he seems to be linked up with Christian Identity Group leaders, such as Louis Beam and Pete Peters. And so,unsurprisingly, the critics may take advantage of that and use it to cast dispersions on "They Were White and They Were Slaves". Afterall, isn't Hoffman affiliated with White Supremacist Groups? Although I think that is highly probably - actually, it is hard to tell - that is totally irrelevant. Truth is never determined by behavior. To cast dispersion on Hoffman's writings because of his affiliations with certain movements is just like doubting the authenticity of Pat Robertson's Christianity because of his connection with a radical Christian Coalition movement. In the end, just looking at the content is the only legitimate type of evaluation. In otherwords, I refrain from throwing the baby out of the bath water.

My favorite parts in the book is the author's thorough discussion on Wealthy Women who use double standards by leaving young children left for dead in Chimney pipes while supposedly being sympathetic to the plight of the African American slaves. Another one of my favorite parts is explainations as to how Blacks were allowed in the Military while while white servants weren't.

To sum up, the book extensively argues that white slaves, constantly called even by black slaves themselves 'Rednecks' and 'Hillbillies' fared worse than black servants.

This is a perfect countering view to the black paranoi of 'equal rights' as if slavery is uniquely a black thing despite evidence to the contrary. I just can't put the book down!

This book was a real eye-opener for me. I had never heard about this in my history books. I have Scottish ancestors, and had read about the highland clearences. But I had no idea that my ancestors may have been slaves.

I guess I had forgotten "Kidnapped" by Stevenson, or perhaps I thought it was just an adventure story. I'm reading another excellent book about white slaves now. It's called "Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl". I was surprised to learn that white slaves, or indentured servants, were often treated more harshly than black slaves. A black slave was a substantial investment and the owners wanted to protect their investment. White slaves could be obtained at very low cost and were supposed to be freed after working off their servitude. The owners wanted to get as much out of them as they could. Also, if the slave tried to escape punishment or acted badly, the term of servitude could be increased. Many slaves were worked, or beaten, to death.

I was doing some genealogical research a few years ago. As I reviewed old newspaper ads I kept reading about runaway "apprentices". The ads all stated that anyone found assisting or employing the apprentice would be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Things must have been pretty bad for these apprentices to try to escape under such conditions. After reading these books, it starts to make sense.

Hoffman's book is well researched and filled with fascinating details.

I highly recommend "They Were White and They Were Slaves" because this information seems to be either forgotten or ignored.

In the colonial era, English merchant ships imported sugar and tobacco from the Americas to Britain. After the cargo was delivered to Europe, do you think those ships returned to the West Indies empty? Whites kidnapped in Britain were the return-haul operation.

Kidnapping in port cities became an industry, with "press gangs" roaming the streets. You might want to read Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped." The word "kidnapper" was coined in Britain in the 1600s to describe those who captured and sold white children into slavery.

This book reveals that as many a 2/3 of original American colonists from 1609 to 1800 did not come of their own free will. The term "indentured servitude" is a euphemism. Indentured servants were permanent lifetime slaves, and that's how they referred to themselves. Runaways had ears cut off or were branded with an "R" on their cheek. Families were often separated. There was whipping, iron collars and chains.

Other eras are covered, going back before 1000 A.D. The book also has some interesting information about the African slave trade. Expensive Negroes were better treated than Whites, who were obtained for free.

The fault in the book is in the organization, which is neither strictly chronological nor geopraphical. The book has an impressive bibliography.

While I had heard of the terms redneck or redleg, little did I know that these terms originated from insults hurled by African Slaves unto White Slaves on plantations in the new world. This is the type of information that author Hoffman transmits to the reader in this book!

The thrust of this book is shocking and apparantly unassailable. Namely that the vast majority of slaves in the New World to perhaps the 1830/1840's period were poor whites enslaved by creditors, by welfare 'agencies' or perhaps kidnapped off the streets of England, Ireland, and Scotland for slave labor picking tobacco in the New World.

Constant acts of cruelty and inhumanity are chronicled. Everything from entire English and Irish families being sold to different slavemasters piecemeal in different states. Husbands and wives, one sold to work in New York, one sold to work in Georgia, never to see each other again. Children used by the modern Victorians to clean putrid chimneys so reducing their health that the vast bulk of the merry Chimney Sweeps we see caricatured in Merry Poppins never made their 16th Birthday in real life conditions, and startlingly, the abolitionsits who advocated so hard to an end to African Slavery, in the same breath and in the same day did nothing to free their own 'white slaves' and worked and beat many to death while advocating the freeing of African slaves.

What does this book boil down in the final analysis. It will assure that you will scoff at those asking for slavery reparitions, that furthermore, the vast bulk of our population with roots in North American going back before 1850 are the descendants of slaves, that indentured service was really a racket that even Benjamin Franklin had to escape from it as a boy. Nothing could be more perfect to sum up this book than the quote from Shakespeare at the start of 'They Were White and They Were Slaves' which was "NOW STEP I FORTH TO WHIP HYPOCRASY".

Hoffman's little book is an important piece of history, and will forever alter your perspective on current 'reparations' demands, the lawsuits upon companies that used to insure slaves, etc.