Abstract
In the early 17th century, Ireland became the cradle where the nascent English, and later British empire, perfected a model of conquest which would lay the foundations of a global empire.
At around the same time, on the other side of the Atlantic, the tiny island of Barbados, became the most profitable of all English colonies in the Americas. As an insatiable appetite for sugar exploded in England during the 17th century, Barbados became a mercantile ‘laboratory’ where an approach to profit maximisation took on a quasi-religious zeal. Capitalism and exploitation had long been established elsewhere, but never to such a profitable extent.
Barbadian planters pursued profits through the relentless exploitation of both human and material resources. Fortunes were made through the suffering of an estimated 387,000 African slaves, and also of a far smaller number of indentured servants, as well as political prisoners from Ireland (and elsewhere). Curiously, many people among a marginalised community on the east coast of Barbados, known as Redlegs, believe themselves to be the descendants of Irish indentured and forced labour. They are a living legacy of the colonial history of the Caribbean. This creative practice documentary explores the testimonial narratives of a marginalised community cast aside by a colonial system once they had served their purpose.
As well as focusing on marginalised histories, this documentary sheds light on the little-known acts of resistance organised between Irish indentured servants and African slaves during the 17th century. This research also addresses the contested history of the Redlegs of Barbados, exploring the way in which the ‘white slave myth’ has emerged over the last two decades. This is popular in the US, where it has been weaponized to argue that the first slaves brought to the Americas were
white and Irish, as a means of undermining the scale and legacy of the African slave trade. It is a phenomenon fuelled by a potent mix of bad history, false equivalence, and conspiracy theories spread online and via social media.
- Documentary teaser link.
Bio
Bob Jackson (he/his) is a filmmaker, author, and lecturer at the Munster Technological University, Ireland. He is working towards completion of a PhD Film & Screen Media (Creative Practice) at University College Cork, in December 2024. He is currently working on a live action drama series with the support of Screen Ireland. He previously produced a feature length documentary (2015) and wrote a book (2016), both titled ‘A Doctor’s Sword’. A Doctor’s Sword (documentary) had a seven-week run in Irish cinemas, was nominated for an IFTA award (2016) and has been broadcast throughout the world via RTÉ, PBS, Sky Arts, Discovery Channel Asia, and Amazon Prime.
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