Irish Slavery: A History Rarely Told
The stories of the Irish slaves in the Caribbean have mostly withered away with time. There are very few accounts of their lives written, so much so that many don't even know they existed. This book is is McCafferty's effort to give us one such account. The story is fictitious, however the certain places, people, and events are real.
Testimony Of An Irish Slave Girl
Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl
Amazon Price: (as of 12/27/2009)
In 1651, ten-year-old Cot Daley is kidnapped from her home in Galway, Ireland and taken to Barbados. She is just one of more than 50,000 Irish who were sold as indentured servants to the plantation owners of the Caribbean, who worked them alongside the African slaves. Some of these Irish servants were young children snatched from the streets and spirited away on slave ships never to see their families again. In Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl, Kate McCafferty brilliantly re-creates this little known part of history through the remarkable life of Cot Daley.
After surviving a failed rebellion in which the black and Irish slaves conspired to overthrow their masters, Cot has been called in for questioning by Peter Coote, a disenchanted British doctor who has sold his soul to the governor of the island. She agrees to give her account of the uprising but only as part of her life story, wanting to set the record straight for posterity. As Coote begins to record the testimony of Cot Daley, whom he refers to as "the biddy" and "the white woman," what unfolds is the story of her amazing life-the brutal journey to Barbados, her harrowing years as a slave, her marriage to an African slave and rebel leader, and the fate of her children. It is both the story of an exceptional woman and a profound novel about the relations between slaves and their masters, imagined with power and passion.
Brilliantly researched and beautifully written, Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl will captivate readers of Irish and African-American history as well as lovers of literary fiction.
Did you know?
It seems that Irish slavery has escaped many texts, and therefore the entire education of many.
Cot to Coote (p.45)
"every tribe of people think themselves the yardstick of Creation, and feel fear and distaste and suspicion of outsiders. But still, I tell you this is learned"...."In right circumstances, things like that melt away like morning haze."
Reading Group Guides
Resources for Book Clubs & Teachers
- ReadingGroupGuides.com - Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl by Kate McCafferty
- Includes Discussions Questions Such as:
Cot comes from a long line of seanachies, storytellers who "traveled the world in all its strangeness and brought back its songs, its tales and poetry and wisdom" (p. 5). In what ways is Cot herself a kind of poet? Why does she insist on telling her story the way she wants to tell it, filled with digressions of all kinds, instead of simply giving Coote the information he's after? - Q&A with Kate McCafferty
- This link points to Amazon's expanded description of this book which includes some question and answer with the author, Kate McCafferty. It is a good reference for discussions.
Irish Slavery
Related Pages
For more information about Irish slavery, visit this great lens:-
Irish Slaves in the Caribbean
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Though little has been discussed about them, thousands of Irish men, women, and children, were captured or arrested and shipped to the Caribbean as slaves. Because they did not factor into Oliver Cromwell's new plan of government, these people were g...
What did you think of this book?
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Fetching blurbs now... please stand byBookReview says:
Very interesting sounding book. I did some research after reading this on the author and why she wrote this book. I had no idea about the Irish being brought to Barbados to work as slaves. And that the Officers preferred the concubines of a woman who was mixed Irish and African blood. 5*
Posted May 22, 2008
MeganCasey says:
I haven't read it yet, but thanks to this remarkable lens, it's on my list!
Posted January 24, 2008
GypsyCraft says:
Hmmm...It looks a grand book, although I haven't read. I can relate. I love it!
Posted January 11, 2008
Testimony of An Irish Slave Girl by Kate McCafferty
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Because this book is out of print, eBay is one of the best places to find a copy, and often at an amazing price.
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Article about the writing of this book
- New York State Writers Institute - Kate McCafferty Times Union Article
- Classroom epiphany led to novel on Irish slaves Kate McCafferty was attending graduate school at the University of Arizona when something a professor casually mentioned in class struck a nerve. By STEPHANIE EARLS, Staff writer
First published: Sunday, March 9, 2003
Music by Damien Dempsey
"...a singer-songwriter who... can rip your heart in two...brilliant" -NME
To Hell or Barbados
Amazon Price: $14.98 (as of 12/27/2009)
List Price: $14.98
Used Price: $1.60
Dublin singer/songwriter Damien Dempsey - "Damo" to fans - embodies the passion of Ireland's rich history and politics with his personal tales about life and love all captured on his latest release To Hell or Barbados out on the United For Opportunity label.
His fourth release, To Hell or Barbados shows development and incredible maturity from this exceptional artist, who returns with a new and very contemporary sounding album as the follow-up to Shots (UFO) - recognized by Paste Magazine as #36 on the "Top 100 albums of 2006." A variety of musical styles from rock, folk, reggae, and even electronica combine to make Dempsey's most accomplished album yet.
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Slavery is Not History
Throughout time, worldwide, slavery has existed: in Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; in medieval Europe; under the viking rule; the Jews under the Nazi regime; in the Arab world; in Africa; in Brazil; in China; in India; and indeed in America.
You would think that in a world as modern as ours, where people pride themselves on being educated, that slavery would be gone. Unfortunately that is not the case. Slavery exists today, as in any other time. It is merely covered up and disguised (most of the time). People being traded as sex slaves, children being sold off, factories that pay nearly nothing and provide threats of violence if people try to quit, immigrants enslaved to pay for their trip and fake papers - it is all happening today. And, it is slavery. Visit iAbolish.org for more information.
Slavery is alive today. These are just a few of today's headlines from Google News related to issues of slavery:
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byFurther Thoughts on Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl
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- stargazer00 stargazer00 Aug 9, 2008 @ 6:48 pm
- Looks like a good book. I'll have to check it out.
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