Montserrat sits in the Caribbean Sea southeast of Puerto Rico. Most folks remember it because of the devastating eruption of Soufriere Hills volcano in 1995 and subsequent burps by the volcano. Few know that the majority language of Montserrat up until 1900 was Irish Gaelic. Ann “Goody” Glover was hanged for witchcraft in Boston in 1688. Ann had two strikes against her going in…she was an Irish Catholic… and a slave. The connection between the Montserratans speaking Irish Gaelic and Ann Glover’s untimely demise is one of the cloistered secrets of the English speaking world. During the 17th Century, hundreds of thousands of Irish were sold into slavery in the new world. While Elizabeth I is credited with the idea of an Irish genocide, Oliver Cromwell pursued it with a zeal that would place him squarely in the middle of the basket with Hitler or Saddam. We will never know how many Irish were sold into slavery during the 17th and early 18th Centuries. Records are scant and it’s not something of which the British are particularly proud. We can say that it runs into the hundreds of thousands in places like Barbados, Montserrat, Virginia and Massachusetts. Irish folk were a profitable commodity since unlike African slaves that had to be purchased for resale, the supply of Irish was unlimited and free. They were a bargain to the planters since the initial cost was less than that of an African slave. For ~900lbs of cotton, any good Protestant planter could own a fully able Irishman or woman. Children of course were a tad less expensive. Irish slavery lasted until 1839 when a bill was passed in Parliament banning the slave trade. When he learned that the ban was immanent, the Bishop of Exeter reluctantly agreed to sell his 655 slaves…as long as he was compensated. You’ll find little mention in history books about the Irish slave trade or about the scattered Welsh, Scots and other native Britons sold into slavery. These were not indentured servants but true, owned body and soul, slaves. Most died in bondage in far off places like Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, Montserrat, Barbados and other crown colonies. Some simply interbred with African slaves until no trace remained and some few went on to find freedom in the New World. Ann “Goody” Glover was initially sold as a slave in Barbados.