classics

Helping those in need

Visit Site

MP3 Audio Sample

rating
 
 
goodreads logo

Short Synopsis
White Cargo is the forgotten story of the thousands of Britons who lived and died in bondage in Britain's American colonies.

Full Synopsis
White Cargo is the forgotten story of the thousands of 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.

White Cargo

The Forgotten History of Britain's White Slaves in America

Author Don Jordan, Michael Walsh

Narrated by Roger Clark

Publication date Feb 12, 2019

Running time 11 hrs 3 min

Available Formats

Suggestions?
Let us know!