They Were White and They Were Slaves: The Untold History of the Enslavement of Whites in Early America. Paperback – January 1, 1993

Adding to other reviews here, two main comments for my experience with this book.First, especially in the current time, I found that this book doesn't portray "who was enslaved" as a zero-sum game. In other words, he documents in detail what happened with Slavic, English, Irish, and other white Europeans, but he also speaks a bit about Africans becoming slaves. My read was this book does not at all attempt to diminish the horrors of slavery inflicted upon Africans, but it supplements that well-known historical record with how millions of Slavic, English, and Irish men, women, and children were also enslaved. The book also discusses the horrendous labor conditions in England during those times. There is much history in this book I had no idea about, and the author constantly provides detailed citations to source reference material.Second, the book really gave me a sense that we humans have been depriving each other of liberty and life for, well, a really long time - millennia. This enslavement and killing knew no racial or geographic boundaries, as everyone seems to have done this to everyone else, including to people very similar to themselves. The book talks about how Vikings a thousand years ago would sell other white Europeans into slavery, followed by other Europeans, and of course Africans sold other Africans into slavery, and both buyers and sellers transcended any race we in modernity might want to pick out in particular. We all did it. Again, that is not to diminish or elevate any one or any group in particular, it is a comment on gaining wider and more complete historical knowledge which can only inform our modern ethical choices and how we shape our polity and society going forward.The book, despite its "budget" appearance, is very well written and very readable. I expected to pick it up and find a dry historical tome that would take me some time to read; instead, I found it riveting (admittedly it helps to be interested in history to begin with). Given the current political temper, its title and material is a little controversial, but truth is paramount. The book is not that long, so for curious and open-eyed students of history, I highly recommend it.

This book contains vital (disturbing) information about human history that has been overlooked or omitted for centuries. As a historian, I will say this is common. Much of what we think we know is false and significantly edited. All humans on the planet at this time should read this book and pass it along to their descendants. This is our true history, and it explains much of our collective and individual trauma passed down through the generations. It may also be an effective tool to stop self-blame and shame from circumstances that never existed as taught and perpetuated.

First off, Mr. Hoffman II gives the reader so much information with references! When I read his book I actually cried.I became interested in English history when I heard several English historians talk over the radio about how Americans do not even know their own history. This sent me off digging in every book I could get my hands on looking for our history.I've done some extensive research into my family history (approximately 30 years worth), I knew they came in from Ireland and Scotland on my father's side of the family. Everyone of them came in to the ports of Virginia. I could find no history of their old birth records - nothing. Their census records all said Virginia. Why Virginia? The writer explains all that and much more!Mr. Hoffman II explained so many things to the reader about our history about Scottish and Irish fighting men that were taken from their lands to settle in North America. England needed money, what's more they wanted them off the soils of Scotland and Ireland. How many fighters became slaves, political prisoners, and indentured. Some signed up on their own free will but had no earthly idea what they were getting themselves into.The horrors they had to endure was unbelievable.When I look on web about indentured slavery in American History they made it sound like a darn vacation away from Europe for a few years! But a master is a master no matter what color he is and no matter what color the servant is.This book explains a lot and it also makes you more aware as to why the political correct historians want this history under the rug! Read it, it is for every culture - he left no one out. It will shock you.

I've been finding that most history books are too detailed to fit my interests, too many names and dates just wears me down. But this book is the exception.If you want a well written history of white slavery without being bogged down with names, dates, and cross referencing facts, then this book is for you.

When I first opened the package containing this book, I was shocked by its small size, given it's not so small price. Nonetheless, once I began reading it I could not put it down. This is the untold story of white slavery, and makes a perfect companion to another much weightier tome I'm reading called "The Slave Trade," by Hugh Thomas, which focuses on black slavery. This side of slavery, that it was NOT inherently a racist institution, that the racism came later, is vital in understanding this important historical phenomenon. It also helps ameliorate the racial tension that usually attends discussion of slavery in the United States.That said, there are a few passages in the book, and some terminology, that could easily lead the reader to believe that this author has a racist agenda. I would not assert that myself, as there is nothing untrue or slanted in his actual account, but it would not surprise me to learn that he did not believe in racial mixing. Again, this is speculative, but I urge potential readers not to be put off by this remark, as the content and history are far too important to be lost in such latter-day controversy. Read it for the history. Then read "the Slave Trade."