The Myth of “Irish Slaves” in the Colonies

Recent years have seen the marked growth of the “Irish slaves” narrative, which is itself a subset of the “white slavery” myth. This myth has always existed in ultranationalist and white supremacist circles, and their promotion of it frequently occurs on social media. The myth has recently gone viral, partly due to the decision by popular newspapers and websites to endorse a spurious “Irish Slave Trade” article that conflates indentured servitude or forced labour with chattel slavery. Surprisingly, this claim has gone relatively unchallenged in the public domain, thus this paper will analyse its veracity.