Clips
Music played
26 items-
John Dutton Kidnapped Theme
-
James McNally Irish Boy (Theme from Cal)
-
Jem Finer Dingle Regatta
-
John Dutton Beautiful Vision
-
Morrissey Irish Blood, English Heart
-
Mogwai The Precipice
-
John Dutton Silent Valley
-
John Dutton Dream on the River
-
Tindersticks Whiskey and Water
-
John Dutton This is Fear
-
Daniel Cossu Dark & Stormy Night
-
Jem Finer Dingle Regatta
-
The Coral Fireflies
-
Spiritualized Broken Heart
-
Stiff Little Fingers Johnny Was
-
John Dutton Enganadoro
-
John Dutton Night Patrol
-
Mogwai The Precipice
-
John Dutton Night Patrol
-
John Dutton Ship to America
-
John Dutton Slave Prisoner
-
John Dutton Escape
-
John Dutton Les Champs de Pluie
-
John Dutton Final Boat
-
John Dutton Enganadoro
-
John Dutton Case of the Silver Earring
-
What Dan Cruickshank discovered whilst making Kidnapped: A Georgian Adventure
What surprised me during the research for this programme was the scale of the institution of indentured servitude, its role in the establishment of the British colonies in North America and the ethical complexity of the role played by the Founding Fathers of the new nation of the United States.
Typically the indenture or contract involved a person ‘selling’ themselves into servitude and in return for their travel costs to the New World they undertook to work without wages for a specified period, usually two years. And these years of servitude could be tough indeed - the indentured servant had no more freedom than a slave, they were bought and sold as chattels, pursued if they absconded, could have their period of servitude extended as a punishment, be whipped or branded. When their servitude finally expired they were free to wander - perhaps rewarded with some money, goods - and even a little land on which they could settle, all according to the vague and arbitrary ‘customs of the country.’
This was the brutal fate that befell of those who had voluntarily entered into the contract. It was, perhaps, something they could and should have anticipated. But many who found themselves imposed upon by the harsh terms of servitude had not voluntarily and knowingly agreed a contract. Some were ‘persuaded’ when drunk, exploited because of their destitution or simply kidnapped - and these numbers included many children - tempting targets for professional abductors, called ‘spirits’, because children were more defenseless that adults and - if strong - more tempting as labour for plantation owners in the New World.
On my journey in North America, while telling the story of one of the kidnapped - James Annesley - I explored those areas where indentured servants and slaves had been auctioned and where they toiled in the early 18th century. Black slaves, who had no hope of final freedom and so whose lot was far worse than that of indentured servants, were landed and worked mainly in the central and southern colonies. I went to Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, where many indentured servants from the British Isles and Germany were landed.
Little has changed for over 250 years in the former Delaware state capital of New Castle. Here the thirteen year old James Annesley was landed in 1728 after his abduction in Dublin and auctioned by the ship’s captain, seemingly armed with a fraudulent indenture. James was to be imprisoned in the American colonies for thirteen years - serving a succession of brutal masters - before escaping back to Ireland and England and a prolonged legal battle to gain his birthright. This was an inheritance of great value, including large estates and five aristocratic titles that had been stolen from James by the wicked uncle that had orchestrated his kidnap. -
Dan Cruickshank on Hopkins family farm
Dan Cruickshank and Eric Hopkins on the farm where James Annesley worked in harsh conditions for many years before escaping back to Ireland to fight for his fortune.
-
Dan Cruickshank on tall ship Kalmar Nyckel
Dan Cruickshank on tall ship Kalmar Nyckel. James Annesley would have travelled to America on a ship like this.
-
Kidnapped: A Georgian Adventure filming locations
USA
• Kalmar Nyckel ship at Lewes, Delaware. Contact Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, 1124 East 7th Street, Wilmington, DE 19801
• Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107-5699, USA
• New Castle, Delaware, USA
IRELAND
• Dunmain House, New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland
• Ballywalter Game & Country Living Fair, Ballywalter, County Down, Northern Ireland
• Henrietta Street, Dublin
• The King's Hospital, Palmerstown, Dublin 20, Ireland
• House of Lords, Bank of Ireland, 2 College Green, Dublin
• The Curragh Racecourse, Co. Kildare, Ireland
• The horse market, Smithfield, Dublin
• Hanover Quay, Dublin 2
• 25 Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
LONDON
• Westminster Hall, London
• St. Margaret’s Church, Lee Terrace, Lee, London, SE13 5BT
• The Cleveland Street Workhouse, London
NORFOLK
• Gressenhall Workhouse & Farm, Gressenhall, Dereham, Norfolk -
Kidnapped: A Georgian Adventure book list
Birthright: The True Story that Inspired "Kidnapped" by A. Roger Ekirch. 2010.
The Case of the Honourable James Annesley, Esq.; Being a Sequel to the Memoirs of an Unfortunate Young Nobleman by James Annesley
French and Indian Cruelty: Exemplified in the Life, and Various Vicissitudes of Fortune of Peter Williamson by Peter Williamson, Michael Fry
Credits
- Series Producer
- Mary Sackville-West
- Presenter
- Dan Cruickshank
- Director
- Tim Dunn
- Producer
- Tim Dunn
- Executive Producer
- Helen Thomas
