Racism in The United Kingdom. (Go Back to Your Country: Which One May I Ask?)

Illustration by the Author

The above illustration is a map of my DNA geographical history. I’ve traced my great-grandmother’s side of the family back to 1739. They were originally from Ireland and later moved to Devon. After that, they were transported to Barbados and then to St. Lucia, where they became plantation owners. Many people forget that the Irish were among the first ‘enslaved’ people to be transported to the Caribbean. Their descendants, especially on the island of Barbados, were known as the Red Legs.

I contacted their descendants in England, who were polite and apologetic. I have traced the African side of the family back to the middle of the 19th century.

I was previously unaware of the extensive movement of people around the Caribbean islands. I have found relatives in Barbados, St. Martens, the British and US Virgin Islands, Guyana, Cayenne, Brazil, the United States, Canada, Haiti and other places. There was much more movement of people between the islands in the past than there is today.

This makes sense because the islands were colonised in the past. Also, during the period of colonial rule and slavery, escaped enslaved people moved from one island to another; for example, after the British ended slavery, many enslaved people escaped from the French-controlled Martinique…