THE BLACK IRISH (From Ireland to the West Indies & North America)Oliver Cromwell deported people to the West Indies primarily during the 1650s, particularly after the conquest of Ireland and Scotland…Following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, thousands of Irish prisoners of war, as well as civilians (including women and children), were forcibly sent to the Caribbean, particularly to Barbados, Jamaica, and Saint Kitts, as indentured laborers or slaves…After the Battle of Dunbar (1650) and the Battle of Worcester (1651), many Scottish prisoners of war were also deported to the West Indies and North America…These deportations were part of Cromwell’s broader policies of punishing political opponents and populating English colonies with forced labor…Estimates vary, but historians generally agree that Oliver Cromwell deported between 50,000 and 100,000 people—mostly Irish and Scottish prisoners, rebels, and civilians—to the West Indies, North America, and other English colonies during the 1650s…After Cromwell’s campaign in Ireland (1649–1653), roughly 50,000 to 60,000 Irish men, women, and children were forcibly sent to Barbados, Jamaica, Montserrat, and Saint Kitts as indentured laborers or slaves…Some sources estimate that the total number of Irish sent to the Americas (including New England and Virginia) could be as high as 100,000 between 1650 and 1700…Following the Battle of Dunbar (1650) and the Battle of Worcester (1651), at least 10,000 Scottish and English prisoners were sent to the colonies, including the West Indies and New England…The historical records of the Western Isles of Scotland provide compelling descriptions of their inhabitants, frequently noting complexions ranging from brown to distinctly black…These accounts challenge modern assumptions about the region’s early populations and suggest a more complex ethnographic history than is often acknowledged…In A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland (1716), Martin documented the physical characteristics of the islanders:—* Isle of Skye: “The inhabitants of this isle are generally well proportioned, and their complexion is for the most part black” (p. 194).* Isle of Arran: “The inhabitants of this isle are well proportioned, generally brown, and some of a black complexion. They enjoy a good state of health, and have a genius for all callings or employments” (p. 224).* Isle of Jura: “The natives here are very well proportioned, being generally black of complexion and free from bodily imperfections. They speak the Irish language” (p. 239).* Isle of Colonsay: “The inhabitants are generally well proportioned, and of a black complexion; they speak only the Irish tongue” (p. 248).These statements are not isolated observations…Martin had previously noted in his 1695 writings that the people of Skye were “for the most part black,” while those of Jura were “generally brown, and some of a black complexion.”Other historical sources reinforce Martin’s descriptions…* On the Isle of Gigha, the population was recorded as having a more mixed complexion, described as “fair or brown.”* Thomas Pennant, writing about the inhabitants of Islay, depicted them as “lean, withered, dusky, and smoke-dried.”* The famed writer and lexicographer Dr. Samuel Johnson, during his 1773 tour of Scotland with James Boswell, repeatedly remarked on the swarthy complexions of certain Highlanders.* Boswell himself described members of the McRae clan as “black and wild in their appearance as any American savages.”These consistent accounts from multiple sources suggest that the presence of dark-skinned people in the Scottish Highlands was not an anomaly but rather an established fact…Their prominence in folklore, including the Tales of the West Highlands, further indicates that these individuals were a recognized and acknowledged part of the region’s history—whether as indigenous inhabitants, migrants, or descendants of an earlier population…In all these cases, we can find every reason for understanding why the Tales of the West Highlands should abound with encounters (friendly and inimical) with black people…The legends and the history of the Scottish Highlands are both witnesses to the existence of purely black people…