After the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland Irish prisoners were forcibly transferred to English colonies in the Americas and sold into indentured servitude, a practice that came to be known as being "Barbadosed", though Barbados was not the only colony to receive Irish prisoners, with those sent to Montserrat being the best known. To this day, Montserrat is the only country or territory in the world, apart from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Canadian province of Newfoundland to observe a public holiday on St Patrick's Day. The population is predominantly of mixed Irish and African descent.