Evening star., 1940-03-10
Famine Victims
Sold as Slaves
By Frederic J. Hdskin,

tne nghtlng men who, after the failure
OF Stuart attempts to regain the throne
OF England were sent to these shores as
prisoners, indentured servants or came
as 1ugltlVes. But there also is Scottish
blood here which comes down from an
other group, the slaves who, as children,
were sold by kidnapers and even by their
own parents.
Old records reveal that, during the
CromWellian period in Great Britain,
more than 1000 Scottish children either
were kidnapped and sold or sold by their
parents. In Robert Louis Stevensons great
adventure story, kidnapped" the matter
is touched upon. Inasmuch as the kid
naped victim providentially escaped the
story does not do more than hint at the
LIE OF slavery which had been planned
for him by his avaricious uncle and the
shipmaster, Elias Hoseason
During the Cromwellian period, the
records show, those who were sold into
slavery in the American Colonies were
idle and sturdie beggars" or "obstinat
phanatics." Also there were "absenters
from church." serious charge in the
purltanlcal Scotland of those early days.
There were many causes which con-
tributed to the strange practices, but
the period which seems to modern per-
sons the most shocking produced per-
haps the most hideous and pitiable cases
OF all. From 1893 to the end of that
century, Scotland suffered the most Sc
we're famine in its recorded history. Even
the potato famines of the 18th century
IN Ireland were not so terrible because
they did not last SO long. In Scotland
seven years of dry weather during which
even the heather scarcely grew produced
conditions beyond anything but the most
vivid imagination.
The people scrabbled for roots. Those
living near the sea were able to catch
fish, but those living inland found the
streams dried up and the wild creatures
fled from hill and glen. The people
prowled like beasts, and possession of a
scone was sufficient prize for a fight to
the death.
1t was in such circumstances that
many parents sold their children into
slavery. The motive, it will be seen, was
tWofold. The parents would receive a
few pounds which would assist them In
getting out of the country and the prac-
tice was supposed to deliver the children
from starvation Many parents consid-
ered this the lesser of the evils presented.
A regular business sprang up. The
records tell that among the leaders in
the trade were John Burnett, merchant,
known as Bonnie John; Bailie William
Fordyce OF Aquhorthies; Walter Cochran,
who was town clerk of Aberdeen, and
Alexander Mitchell of Colpha. 1t may
seem surprising that lairds like Fordyce
and Mitchell should be engaged in such
traffic, but the times were harsh and
the humanitarian conscience Of the pc
riod was asleep
When parents sought to recover chill
dren who had been kidnapped they found
themselves in difficulties; that is, the
parents who had not voluntarily sold
their offspring. A father who tried to
find his stolen child would find himself
impressed into the army or navy by the
kings men. AS many of the magistrates
were themselves in the traffic, protest
was unavailing and of legal process there
was none. OF course, the business
thrived long after the famine conditions
had ameliorated.
1t was a slave whose efforts finally
brought this traffic to an end One Peter
williamson who as child had been
KIDNAPPED and sold into slavery in the
American Colonies, either escaped or OBJ
tanned his freedom in some other way
ana returned to Scotland. He had man
aged to amaSs a small competence and,
determined upon retribution and pre-
Vention of further crimes, he published
book exposing the whole system He
had informed himself on many facts.
For example, it is shown that in the
brief period from 1740 to 1747 more than
500 young boys and girls had been sold
from Scotland into slavery in Virginia.
New England Bermuda, Barbados and
Jamaica.
The slavery ring still was too strong
to be beaten. Williamson was prosecut.
ed, on the strength of his book, fn
"scurrilous libel" Nevertheless, when
he had extricated himself from this diff
Guilty, he persisted in the circulation of
his facts and finally attracted sufficient
attention in England to make a scandal.
The Scottish magistrates found that
they no longer could ignore the matter.
A case came before the Court of Session
and some of the ringleaders were prose-
cuted. The matter was fully aired and
stories of the lives of the unfortunate
victims were rehearsed
Most of the child slaves were sent to
the mainland of North America. It ap-
pears from the records that Philadelphia
was the chief slave market for these
Scottish children, although many were
taken to Charleston, Norfolk, Boston or
| other ports. An average price was $50.
| In many cases, where parents sold their
| children, the matter of actual slavery
was not stressed by the bargainers. It
usually was represented that the young
| boy or girl was merely being indentured
as an apprentice and after seven or ten
years would be given freedom.
There was, of course, no way of enforc-
ing these terms and, once afloat, all
hope was gone. Some of the children
undoubtedly fell into the hands of hu-
manitarian masters who taught them
their letters as well as how to work at
trades. Others received bad treatment,