White Cargo: The Forgotten History of Britain's White Slaves in America 1/31/08 Edition

4.6 out of 5 stars 875 ratings
ISBN-13: 978-0814742969
ISBN-10: 0814742963
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

High school American history classes present indentured servitude as a benignly paternalistic system whereby colonial immigrants spent a few years working off their passage and went on to better things. Not so, this impassioned history argues: the indentured servitude of whites was comparable in most respects to the slavery endured by blacks. Voluntary indentures arriving in colonial America from Britain were sold on the block, subjected to backbreaking work on plantations, poorly fed and clothed, savagely punished for any disobedience, forbidden to marry without their master's permission, and whipped and branded for running away. Nor were indentures always voluntary: tens of thousands of convicts, beggars, homeless children and other undesirable Britons were transported to America against their will. Given the hideous mortality rates, the authors argue, indentured contracts often amounted to a life sentence at hard labor—some convicts asked to be hanged rather than be sent to Virginia. The authors, both television documentarians, don't attempt a systematic survey of the subject, and their episodic narrative often loses its way in colorful but extraneous digressions. Still, their exposé of unfree labor in the British colonies paints an arresting portrait of early America as gulag. 8 pages of photos. (Mar.)
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Review

"“A colorful series of portraits of villains and victims, exploiters and exploited, rendered with bemused outrage." ― Choice

"This vividly written book tells the tale from both sides of the Atlantic . . . meticulously sourced and footnotedbut is never dry or academic...Jordan and Walsh offer an explanation of how the structures of slaveryblack or whitewere entwined in the roots of American society. They refrain from drawing links to today, except to remind readers that there are probably tens of millions of Americans who are descended from white slaves without even knowing it." ― New York Times Book Review

"High school American history classes present indentured servitude as a benignly paternalistic system whereby colonial immigrants spent a few years working off their passage and went on to better things. Not so, this impassioned history argues: the indentured servitude of whites was comparable in most respects to the slavery endured by blacks. Given the hideous mortality rates, the authors argue, indentured contracts often amounted to a life sentence at hard labor―some convicts asked to be hanged rather than be sent to Virginia . . . their exposé of unfree labor in the British colonies paints an arresting portrait of early America as gulag. 8 pages of photos" ― Publishers Weekly

"With information gleaned from contemporary letters, journals and court archives, White Cargo is packed with proof that he brutalities usually associated with black slavery were, for centuries, also inflicted on whites" ― Daily Mail

"An eye-opening and heart-rending story" ― The Times (London)

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYU Press; 1/31/08 edition (March 8, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0814742963
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0814742969
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.02 x 0.8 x 9.21 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 875 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
875 global ratings
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martyG
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2020
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Mr. M. E. King
5.0 out of 5 stars White cargo.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2019
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Malcolm
5.0 out of 5 stars British White Slavery in Colonial America.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2015
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Glen Pettifer
4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and controversial but eye opening
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2018
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Enslaved
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2020
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