The full story of the so-called Barbary Pirates has been erased from American memory. While white slavers have been rightfully vilified and demonized, black slavers have been excised from public discourse.
It is estimated that close to a million whites of various nationalities were captured on land and sea and sold into slavery and harems in Algiers. Des Ekins’ book, ‘The Stolen Village,’ gives new meaning to “Lost at sea.” It factfully chronicles the kidnapping of the entire village of Baltimore, Co. Cork, Ireland, in the 1600s. These marauders sailed as far as Italy and England, as well as Ireland.
Here in the U.S. someone or some group has floated the idea of a monument to black slavery. Sure, as long as right next to it there’s one to whites who were enslaved by blacks. Come to think of it, maybe there should also be the same kind of monuments in Africa where blacks sold blacks into slavery.
