If the Irish Ran the World: Montserrat, 1630-1730
Montserrat, although part of England's empire, was settled largely by the Irish and provides an opportunity to view the interaction of Irish emigrants with English imperialism in a situation where the Irish were not a small minority among white settlers. Within this context Akenson explores whether Irish imperialism on Montserrat differed from English imperialism in other colonies. Akenson reveals that the Irish proved to be as effective and as unfeeling colonists as the English and the Scottish, despite the long history of oppression in Ireland. He debunks the myth of the "nice" slave holder and the view that indentured labour prevailed in the West Indies in the seventeenth century. He also shows that the long-held habit of ignoring ethnic strife within the white ruling classes in the West Indies is misconceived. If the Irish Ran the World provides interesting insights into whether ethnicity was central to the making of the colonial world and the usefulness of studies of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English imperialism in the Americas. It will be the basis of the Joanne Goodman Lectures at the University of Western Ontario in 1997.
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Irelands NeoFeudal Empire 163o165o
From NeoFeudalism to Crown Rule 165o168o
Capitalism at a Gallop 168o173o
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acres adult African slaves Anglican Anthony Briskett anti-Catholic Antigua appointed assembly Barbados became black slaves Blake British Isles Carib Carlisle patent Catholic church census Christopher Codrington colonists colony Cotter council Crown David Gallway deputy governor Dutch early economic eighteenth century emancipation empire England Established Church ethnicity European free labourers freehold French Gallway governor of Montserrat granted Gwynn historians indentured labourers indentured servants Indian Ireland Irish Catholics Irish civil war Irish diaspora Irish ethnicity John land landowners Leeward Islands London authorities Lord Willoughby male ment merchant militia Mont Montserrat planters Munster native Irish neo-feudal Nevis oaths Old English olic onwards penal code percent priest probably Protestant religious Roger Osborne Roman Catholic serrat settlement seventeenth century slavery small proprietors social sort St Anthony's St Christopher sugar tenancies tion tobacco Trade and Plantations Trant Waad Warner West Indies white indentured white population William Stapleton