blackbirding

[ blak-bur-ding ]

noun

History/Historical. the act or practice of kidnapping people, especially Pacific Islanders, and selling them into slavery abroad, usually in Australia.

Origin of blackbirding

First recorded in 1870–75; blackbird + -ing¹

I sailed in the teak-built ketch, the Minota, on a blackbirding cruise to Malaita, and I took my wife along.
Jerry of the Islands | Jack London
Whalers introduced a terrible disease; Bully Hayes, as will be presently related, found it a virgin field for "blackbirding."
Savage Island | Basil C. Thomson
A Solomon Islander, who had got there during the days when blackbirding or kidnapping was common, moved among them.
The Pacific Triangle | Sydney Greenbie
What, and be sent down here hunting after the blackbirding blackguards?
The Ocean Cat's Paw | George Manville Fenn
The traders were only too glad to get new recruits without the expense of blackbirding them.
Through the South Seas with Jack London | Martin Johnson

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