White Cargo: The Forgotten History of Britain's White Slaves in America (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780814742969)

The forgotten story of the thousands of white Britons who lived and died in bondage in Britain's American colonies

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, more than 300,000 white people were shipped to America as slaves. Urchins were swept up from London's streets to labor in the tobacco fields, where life expectancy was no more than two years. Brothels were raided to provide "breeders" for Virginia. Hopeful migrants were duped into signing as indentured servants, unaware they would become personal property who could be bought, sold, and even gambled away. Transported convicts were paraded for sale like livestock.

Drawing on letters crying for help, diaries, and court and government archives, Don Jordan and Michael Walsh demonstrate that the brutalities usually associated with black slavery alone were perpetrated on whites throughout British rule. The trade ended with American independence, but the British still tried to sell convicts in their former colonies, which prompted one of the most audacious plots in Anglo-American history.

This is a saga of exploration and cruelty spanning 170 years that has been submerged under the overwhelming memory of black slavery. White Cargo brings the brutal, uncomfortable story to the surface.

Author: Don Jordan, Michael Walsh
ISBN-10: 0814742963
ISBN-13: 9780814742969
Publisher: New York University Press
Language: English
Published: 03/08/2008
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 01/07/2008 pg. 45
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2008 pg. 26
New York Times Book Review 04/27/2008 pg. 20
Choice 02/01/2009