There's multifaceted and historically profound connection between "Black Irish" and Indigenous Americans, challenging conventional understandings of race and identity during the colonial period and beyond. This relationship is highlighted through shared physical descriptions, historical experiences of oppression and reclassification, and strategic adaptations to dominant societal structures.
The "Black Irish" Identity
The term "Black Irish" in the sources refers to people of Irish descent who possessed dark complexions, often described as "swarty" or "brown," with black curled hair or dark eyes. This contrasts with a popular misconception of Irish people as solely red-haired or pale-skinned. The origins of this dark complexion are attributed to various factors:
- Iberian/Spanish Armada Survivors: Some "Black Irish" were descendants of Spanish Armada survivors who settled along the Irish Coast and intermarried with the native population. Given that Spaniards themselves were considered "melanated people" and included "Moorish" elements, this established a direct connection to dark-skinned European lineages.
- Indigenous Dark Complexion: The sources also suggest the presence of "indigenous black Germans and ... indigenous people in Holland" that were dark-complexioned, implying that dark complexions were not exclusively from intermarriage with Iberians but were present among "original indigenous people" in various parts of Europe, including Ireland. Early inhabitants of Ireland, such as the Iberii/Hibernians, are linked to migrations from Egypt via Spain.
- Israelite/Celtic Origins: Ancient documents suggest that the Milesian Race, the original "genuine Irish (Celtic) people," were thought to be descended from Milesius of Spain and brought Mosaic law from Egypt, learned from an Israelite. This implies a connection to ancient Israelite heritage.
Indigenous American Identity and Appearance
Indigenous Americans are described with a wide spectrum of complexions, including "coppered, tawny, olive, dusky, white or pale yellow, dark brown, and black". Many were explicitly noted as "dark-complexioned," "black," or "nearly as black as Negroes", possessing features like "large projecting lips, broad flat negro-like noses," and "black and thick hair".
Their origins are asserted to be aboriginal to the Americas, referred to as the "true old world". Furthermore, many sources draw strong correlations between American Indians and the Lost Tribes of Israel due to shared religious beliefs, customs, and linguistic affinities. Some accounts also link them to ancient Moabites, Canaanites, and Moors, asserting them as the "original ancient nation in North America".
Interconnections and Shared Experiences
The relationship between "Black Irish" and Indigenous Americans is revealed through several explicit and implicit connections:
- Shared "Black Dutch" Designation: A significant link is the strategic adoption of the "Black Dutch" (and sometimes "Black Irish") identity by some Indigenous American tribes, notably the Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Choctaws. This was done to avoid forced removal from their lands and to secure the right to own property, which was often only permitted to those perceived as having "European descent". The ability of dark-skinned American Indians to "blend in" as "Black Dutch" (who were also dark-skinned Europeans) demonstrates a shared physical appearance that facilitated this strategic reclassification.
- Intermarriage: Sources indicate that Black Europeans, including Irish/Sephardic Jews/Moors, intermarried with American Indians in the Americas. This led to mixed ancestries, further blurring the lines of "racial" classification.
- Parallel Experiences of Enslavement and Oppression:
- Both the Irish and American Indians were subjected to mass enslavement and forced transportation to the Americas and other parts of the world. Oliver Cromwell's regime notably "furthered this practice of dehumanizing One's next door neighbor" by selling Irish prisoners as slaves to the New World.
- The sources draw direct parallels between how the English treated the Irish and their treatment of Native Americans, referring to both as "savages" and an "inferior race". This oppression was less about perceived skin color ("phenotype") and more about social control and "uncivilized ways".
- The "Penal Laws" in Ireland are presented as forerunners to the slave codes in the American colonies, indicating similar mechanisms of social control and legal disenfranchisement were applied to both groups.
- Reclassification and "Paper Genocide": Both groups underwent significant reclassification, often being labeled "Negro" or "colored" irrespective of their actual ancestry.
- Irish people, despite their European origin, could be "classified as colored".
- American Indians were frequently classified as "black," "dark brown," "tawny," or "mulatto" in census and legal documents, even without African ancestry. This reclassification is described as "paper genocide" or "documentary genocide" aimed at denying their "Indianness" and facilitating their illegal enslavement.
- The term "Negro" became synonymous with "slave" regardless of origin.
- The fluidity of these classifications illustrates that "racial categories are inherently unreliable markers of social cohesion and ancestral connections" and are "constructs of the imagination, not cogent signifiers of human difference".
In essence, the "Black Irish" and Indigenous Americans shared not only common physical characteristics (dark complexions) that defied simple racial binaries but also endured analogous forms of colonial oppression, strategic reclassification, and even intermingling. This historical context provides a more nuanced understanding of identity formation in the Americas, moving beyond simplistic "white" and "black" divisions to acknowledge a complex tapestry of melanated peoples and their interconnected histories.
