Irish immigration to Montserrat dates back to the early 17th century before and during the period of

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

owners and

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. Montserrat is a Caribbean island and overseas territory of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is also known as "The Emerald Isle of The Caribbean" due to the large population of people with Irish descent living there. Irish people first arrived to the island in 1632 and people of

mixed race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

with Irish descent still live on the island.

Background

Montserrat was first settled on by Irish Catholics in 1632, who were sent there by Sir Thomas Warner, the first British governor of neighbouring

St Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

. After the settlement, more Irish settlers were attracted from colonial

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and they established plantations to grow tobacco and indigo, which would eventually be followed by cotton and sugar. Large numbers of Irish people immigrated to Montserrat, generally as merchant's

labourer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...

s and servants. By the mid-seventeenth century, Irish Catholics accounted for the majority of the roughly 1,000 families resident on the island. Following Cromwell's victory in Ireland in 1653, it is estimated that as many as 10,000 Catholics were transported to the West Indies, some settling on Montserrat. Irish people accounted for almost 70% of Montserrat's white population by the late seventeenth century, thus "registering the highest concentration of persons of Irish ethnicity of any colony in the history of both the first and second English empires". The early settlers were repeatedly attacked by French forces and Carib Indians. The French took possession of the island in 1664 and again in 1667, but it was restored to England by the Treaty of Breda. French forces sacked the island in 1712 and captured it for the last time in 1782, but the Treaty of Paris (1783) again returned it to Britain. These Irish people not only made up most of the population but they grew wealthy and played a huge role in the island's economy, becoming far more successful than their English and Scottish counterparts because, as one contemporary explained, ''They knew how to be tough and efficient slave masters.''

Slavery and indentured servitude

Irish settlement in Montserrat was strongly associated with the growth in slavery and the trade that accompanied it. Indentured servants accounted for the majority of people migrating to Montserrat. Almost fifty to sixty percent of the labour flow from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

to its many colonies during the early seventeenth century were servants. Many Irish migrants were attracted to the large supply of employment available in the sugar industry. This production of sugar was fueled by planters with Irish descent with over a third of the island's sugar estates being run by Irish families Some wealthy Irish merchant families set up plantations and networks in the Caribbean which provided employment for the thousands of Irish immigrants willing to travel to Montserrat. Almost half of the whole population of the West Indies by the mid-seventeenth century were Irish. By 1730 Montserrat's economy was almost entirely dependent on this industry which resulted in a change in the population demographics as more slaves from Africa were required as labourers to keep the booming industry going. The decline of the sugar industry resulted in a decline of the number of labourers needed, from 1735 onwards saw a decrease in sugar production which had detrimental effects on those relying on it as a source of income. Slavery was abolished in Montserrat by the

Slavery Abolition Act 1833 The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provided for the gradual abolition of slavery in most parts of the British Empire. It was passed by Earl Grey's reforming administrat ...

Culture and influence

The remains of Irish

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

in Montserrat are evident in modern times. This can be seen in the island's flag and crest which portrays a woman with a harp and cross. Montserrat's national

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often us ...

is an Irish shamrock adorning Government house, again associated with the traditional Irish shamrock. Other cultural influences include

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

value systems In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live ( normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of di ...

, and the Irish recipe for the national dish "goat water stew." These influences are a large part of Irish heritage in Montserrat history. The spoken

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

of the island is English and the native inhabitants of Montserrat speak with a hint of an Irish accent. Flag of Montserrat

St. Patrick's Day

Identified as a national holiday in Montserrat,

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

is a week long festival celebrated every year since 1985. It is a day spent in celebration of the uprising by the enslaved and the free communities against the oppression and poverty suffered at the hands of the wealthy plantation owners. Along with traditional Caribbean entertainment, the festival also provides a rich mix of African and Irish heritage.

References

External links