The Great Famine

�� The Great Famine

�� The Great Famine, also known as the Potato Famine, The Great Hunger and An Gota

�� Mor, reduced the population of Ireland by three million people, or 36%, during the middle

�� of the 19th century. Most of these people immigrated, but it is estimated that one million

�� or more died of starvation and disease. While the famine was initiated by a potato blight,

�� its actual causes are rooted much deeper in the economic system in place at the time

�� and the attitude of the English to the people of Ireland.

�� Causes

�� The Economic system in Ireland during the early 19th century was largely an agricultural one. The country had

�� no manufacturing centers to speak of and most of the people were subsistence farmers.

�� During the early 1800's, the potato had become one of the main crops of Ireland. It was an easy crop to

�� maintain, and gave a bountiful harvest, even greater than that of wheat. One acre of potatoes could and

�� frequently did feed a family of five or six for the entire year. The other crops and food sources; grain, meat and

�� dairy products were largely exported to England by landowners, where they could earn a larger profit.

�� The common people in Ireland, which was over one third of the population, therefore largely subsisted on

�� potatoes, while living with their families in small one‑room shacks which dotted the countryside. Many others

�� rented their land, or paid a rack (bed) tax to work someone else's land or in sweathouses. Their only chance to

�� get ahead in life was that of larger harvests, which required the use of strains of potatoes that were also

�� susceptible to disease. By this means the stage was set for the disaster that followed.

�� The Famine

�� The famine, which was in full swing during 1847 and 1848, actually started in 1845.

�� During that year, the potato blight took one third of the crop in Ireland. Times although

�� harsh, would soon progress into a disaster. In 1846, the entire potato crop of the

�� country was lost, while starvation and disease were rampant among the lowest

�� classes.

�� The English government reacted by sending over scientists to study the problem, while

�� keeping exports of grain and meat at the same levels. It seems that any reduction in exports, while possibly

�� saving thousands of people would raise the price of food in England. This apparently was to the English, an

�� unacceptable answer.

�� Many people could not afford to pay their rent or rack tax due to the blight and were forcibly evicted, while

�� many others simply starved on their own land. The government finally offered food to the starving millions at

�� reduced prices; but to people that had no money at all with which to buy it. The only option to many was

�� immigration, frequently paid for by landlords, but at a price which guaranteed the worst possible conditions.

�� These ships were crammed beyond normal limits with already starving and diseased people; and many more

�� died during the voyages.

�� The situation was further aggravated when the English government demanded payment of taxes to further

�� subsidize relief efforts. What little money that did actually trickle out of Ireland was used for ridiculous

�� purposes. Corn was bought from America and shipped to Ireland, but for every ship that came, four or more left

�� with food for England. In 1847, the famine was causing the death of people at such a large rate, that many

�� were buried in long, communal trenches.

�� Public opinion to the disaster was beginning to have an affect, however. The English

�� government advanced a loan of ten million pounds in an effort to alleviate the situation.

� �� Men were put to work at half wages in purely inconsequential labors. The reason for

�� this was specific, as the law forbade the use of this money in any manner that could

�� give advantage to an Irishman in business over any Englishman. Therefore these men

�� built roads to nowhere and docks where there was no city or port. They could not plant

�� food with this money earned, as this would be a violation of the law. Troops were also

�� sent in, but not to protect the peace, they were to collect taxes and rents owed to

�� Landowners and the Government. In many cases, these troops confiscated the relief

�� food and seed being sent in to Ireland.

�� Many Irish were arrested and transported to the colonies under the Coercion Act for not having a home, while

�� many more were arrested under the Vagrancy Act for not having a visible means of support.

�� In 1848, the situation remained very bad, even though the blight had ended. The potato crop for various reasons

�� had not been planted. Either people were not allowed to plant, or they simply were not there to do it.

�� By 1849 and 1850, the famine was largely at an end. But this was not due to relief efforts, it was simply

�� because one third of the population of Ireland had died or been shipped away to foreign lands.

�� Aftereffects

�� The Great Famine of Ireland had many lasting effects. The native tongue of the land, largely spoken by the

�� lower class, was almost completely eradicated. The landlord/ landowner system created by the Plantation of

�� Ireland was also almost completely destroyed. Of the Irish that survived, many now realized that they could

�� never trust the English to care for them in times of need. A great number of these people joined the Irish

�� Republican Brotherhoods, which was in time to spark the revolution and the later freedom of Ireland.

�� This famine and the resultant deaths were due to a natural disaster worsened by English policies, policies

�� which were tailored to the needs of English businesses and the general well‑being of the English public at the

�� expense of the Irish. Similar effects were being felt at the same time in Scotland where the Highland Clearances

�� were under way.

�� The weight of evidence leads to one conclusion: that English policies towards Ireland and Scotland during this

�� time were instrumental in the death and dislocation of thousands of the poorest people who inhabited those

�� lands.

�� by BW, April 2000

�� Suggested Reading:

�� The Story of the Irish Race, by Seumas MacManus, The Devin ‑ Adair Company, 1974

�� Links:

�� The Great Irish Famine: 150th Anniversary

�� Plantation of Ireland

�� Irish Republican Brotherhood

�� Revolution

�� The Great Famine

�� The Irish Famine

�� Interpeting the Irish Famine

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