Don Jordan
Auteur de White Cargo: The Forgotten History of Britain's White Slaves in America
A propos de l'auteur
Don Jordan has twice won a Blue Ribbon Award at the New York Film and Television Festival and has written four books with Michael Walsh. He lives in London. Michael Walsh has won a Royal Television Society Award. Together with Don Jordan he has written four books, including White Cargo, acclaimed afficher plus by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison as an "extraordinary book." He lives in London. afficher moins
Œuvres de Don Jordan
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Date de naissance
- 1948
- Sexe
- male
- Courte biographie
- Don Jordan is a writer and filmmaker. Among other awards, he has won two Blue Ribbons at the New York Film and Television Festival. He has worked widely in television current affairs, documentaries, history programmes and drama. He co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning feature film Love is the Devil about the painter Francis Bacon. Don lives in London with his wife Eithne, who is a doctor. Don is keen to point out that he once lived in Yorkshire and thoroughly enjoyed it.
http://litfestprogramme.blogspot.com/...
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Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 6
- Membres
- 449
- Popularité
- #54,622
- Évaluation
- 3.4
- Critiques
- 10
- ISBN
- 40
- Langues
- 1
- Favoris
- 1
The book makes a strong case that the early settlers were pawns in games being played by handfuls of an arrogant aristocracy that was driven by its own greed. It appears that a relatively small number of powerful players embraced the idea of transporting vast numbers of the poor to serve as conscripted labor for projects in the New World. This scheme persisted for a couple of centuries and was the solution for many problems:
1. It helped thin the ranks of the poor whose poverty fostered petty crime in England---it helped "rid England of undesirables"
2. Because a few wealthy "investors" were granted 50 acres for each "head" that was transported, it incentivized wealthy landowners to cruel labor practices workersl (since a dead worker could be replaced with a new conscript plus more land)..
3. It helped the British supply warm bodies to establish a foothold in North America
4. Britain used the rapid growth of the colonies to distract the French, with whom there was an ongoing struggle
5. The laborers became a de facto occupying army that cost the Crown almost nothing
The treatment of the indentured and transported persons was horrific , although not excessive given the standards of the time. A woman might be transported for stealing a plate. The terms would be set: if she survived the transatlantic voyage (1/3 did not) then she would be required to work for 7 years at whatever tasks her master required. Infractions against the master, e.g. getting pregnant, funning away, theft, etc. were met with whipping and more time added to the term of service. Often it appears that the term of service could be extended until the person was too weak or ill to carry on.. English aristocracy and the rapacious brand of capitalism embodied here look very bad.
There is a review posted here that alleges this is a hoax. This critique claims that the whole notion of "Irish slaves" has been debunked. It goes on to state that the idea is grounded in white supremacy and is an effort to minimize what happened to Africans that were brought to the colonies. INo citations or referenes are given to support this critique. It concludes by playing the Hitler card and comparing the authors to Nazis. It does not seem that this person actually read the book---there are many references to the differences between the treatment of the enslaved Africans and the transported/indentured Europeans. Those treatments changed over time and those changes were instrumental in the fostering of racist ideas justifying slavery. Francis X Kendi has discussed some of this, as have others.
This book is an overview of that research literature and is intended for the general layperson. This is a serious book from a serious press. As such it has been criticized, probably justifiably, for over-reliance on published and secondary sources. These criticisms come from academic historians who would want the authors to make more use of the unpublished stuff in the archives of diaries, etc. Fair enough, but this is an excellent introduction to a neglected topic in the history of the colonies.… (plus d'informations)