Condemned

The Transported Men, Women and Children Who Built Britain's Empire

By: Graham Seal

Narrated by: Nigel Patterson

In the early 17th century, Britain took ruthless steps to deal with its unwanted citizens, forcibly removing men, women, and children from their homelands and sending them to far-flung corners of the empire to be sold off to colonial masters. This oppressive regime grew into a brutal system of human bondage which would continue into the 20th century.

Drawing on firsthand accounts, letters, and official documents, Graham Seal uncovers the traumatic struggles of those shipped around the empire. He shows how the earliest large-scale kidnapping and transportation of children to the American colonies were quickly bolstered with shipments of the poor, criminal, and rebellious to different continents, including Australia. From Asia to Africa, this global trade in forced labor allowed Britain to build its colonies while turning a considerable profit. Incisive and moving, this account brings to light the true extent of a cruel strand in the history of the British Empire.

©2021 Graham Seal (P)2021 Tantor

Heinous treatment of waste people, but not slaves

The author, very rightly, points out that the people detailed in this book are not slaves. Even if they referred to themselves as such, or their descendants (presumably in an effort to gain historical street cred) claim it to be on par with the atrocity of Black chattel slavery, particularly in America. In modern vernacular, they'd be considered waste people, either by blood, or circumstance or legitimate criminality. The author does acknowledge they are companion prejudices held by the dominant or ruling classes. The problem is however, the book becomes dreadfully dry at times. It never was going to be a page-turner, but at times it dragged to the point that clock-watching became more and more frequent. Never a good sign. I think "pretty good" is a fair description, which is what 3 stars supposedly designates, so I'll settle for that.