Ireland’s current population is millions less than it was before potatoes were ever introduced from the new world, and before British subjugation started in the early 1600s
during the entire potato blight, Ireland remained a food exporting country
The Irish Potato Famine, or the ‘Great Hunger’, was the last great famine in Western Europe and one of the most catastrophic recorded in that region. It led to the death of up to a million people and the emigration of two million people from the island of Ireland. It changed Ireland and its influence can still be felt to this day in the economy, society and politics of Ireland.
The Famine was not only important for Ireland but for many other countries. The waves of emigrants that left Ireland as a result of the Famine, established new homes in North America, Britain, and Australasia and changed these societies.
Recommended Reading
The Great Irish Potato Famine 1
Boil, Bubble, Toil, and Trouble: The Salem Witch Trials
James Hardy January 24, 2017
The Great Irish Potato Famine 2
The History of Christmas
James Hardy January 20, 2017
The Great Irish Potato Famine 3
The Great Irish Potato Famine
Guest Contribution October 31, 2009
As a result of the Famine, many millions of people now claim Irish heritage. The Irish famine, as a result, changed not only Irish society but countries as distant as Canada and Australia. The Famine was also important because it was the first such phenomenon to be scientifically studied and widely reported upon. This led to a better understanding of the nature of Famine and led, especially the British Imperial authorities to develop new strategies to deal with famine in their Empire in the nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Political History
The island of Ireland had been conquered by the English Crown in the early medieval period. However, by 1500, much of the island was beyond the control of the English Royal Governments and the majority of Ireland was independent. Beginning with Henry VIII, the Tudor Dynasty, who claimed to be the monarch of Ireland, fought a series of wars, to make good their claims[1]. By 1603, the English monarchy effectively controlled the island and introduced widespread political, social and religious changes. In particular, they encouraged English and other settlers to emigrate to Ireland, where they were given land, as in the ‘Plantation of Ulster’. These settlers soon became the economic and political elite in the country. By the late 1600s, these colonists, and their descendants largely owned the land in Ireland. After a series of rebellions and confiscations, the old Irish elite were dispossessed and many were exiled. The native Gaelic-speaking population was largely Catholic, in contrast to the settlers, who were overwhelmingly Protestant. Ireland was dominated by a small number of Protestant landowners, who established a series of Penal Laws, that discriminated against Catholics, in order to preserve their position at the apex of Irish society and their privileged status. Despite the repeal of the Penal Laws in the eighteenth century, the Anglo-Irish elite continued to dominate Ireland, economically, socially and politically, well into the nineteenth century.
Politically, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, after the 1801 Act of Union. This had led to the union of the British and Irish parliaments. The Irish parliament had been dominated by the Anglo-Irish Protestant elite, who excluded Catholics from political office. With the Act of Union, Irish MPs could sit in the British Parliament. Despite the Act of Union, the country was still dominated by the Anglo-Irish elite, who were only a small minority in an overwhelmingly Catholic country[2]. By the 1840’s, Catholics had won some political rights, such as the right to hold political office. However, in general, the Catholic majority were very much second class citizens and were economically and politically subordinated to the Anglo-Irish elite.
When as the Irish Potato Famine?
Famine was not new to Ireland. Every few years, there was a partial failure of the potato crop or some natural disaster resulted in a famine. In the 1740’s, an unseasonable frost destroyed the crops in the fields[3]. This led to widespread hunger and epidemics and by the end of the famine, some 10% of the population died over a two- year period. There were also small and localized food crises in Ireland in the 1820’s and the 1830’s. However, the famine in the period 1845-1850 was to be an unprecedented one and was to change Irish history.
Causes of the Irish Potato Famine
There were several significant factors that all contributed to the great Irish Potato Famine
Irish Society
During the Napoleonic Wars, there had been a dramatic expansion in tillage in Ireland. This long conflict had created a demand for food from Britain, to feed its navy and army and a large agricultural workforce was required. Furthermore, many landowners decided to grow crops on their lands and this meant that there was less land for small tenant farmers. Rents rose and it was increasingly difficult for Irish cottiers and labourers to obtain sufficient land, for a family’s needs. The ability to rent a piece of land was often the difference between starvation and survival for many Irish Catholics. Because of the changing rural economy, more and more people came to rely on the potato. This was chiefly because potatoes could grow quickly and did not require much land to provide a large crop[4].
Yes the English were terrible to the Irish, but I fail to see how they "engineered" the famine which was caused by a fungus. They didn't provide aid, they made the Irish reliant on the cheap crop, they didn't grant them rights or let them become anything other than farmers for the English landlords. They were all but slaves to the crown, but we can't claim that the English made the blight. That was beyond anyone's capability at the time. Those lucky enough to afford it and brave enough to endure it went to America where they saw their hard work pay off (after facing new sets of hardships). Because of the potato famine and the wave of immigrants, most Americans have Irish blood in them.
I think they engineered the famine by making life for the Irish precarious and marginal, on small plots of land. They didn't have a diverse agriculture as a result of that.
If everyone grew potatoes, that's how a blight might spread easily.
I'm not saying the English made or distributed the blight (though distributed is possible) I think that they had the Irish in such a precarious position that it made the famine worse.
How did they do that if you don't mind me asking?
Couple things to consider:
Political History
from https://historycooperative.org/the-irish-famine/
Now I'm sure that there is more to this than is recorded, but that's true of history in general
Yes the English were terrible to the Irish, but I fail to see how they "engineered" the famine which was caused by a fungus. They didn't provide aid, they made the Irish reliant on the cheap crop, they didn't grant them rights or let them become anything other than farmers for the English landlords. They were all but slaves to the crown, but we can't claim that the English made the blight. That was beyond anyone's capability at the time. Those lucky enough to afford it and brave enough to endure it went to America where they saw their hard work pay off (after facing new sets of hardships). Because of the potato famine and the wave of immigrants, most Americans have Irish blood in them.
I think they engineered the famine by making life for the Irish precarious and marginal, on small plots of land. They didn't have a diverse agriculture as a result of that.
If everyone grew potatoes, that's how a blight might spread easily.
I'm not saying the English made or distributed the blight (though distributed is possible) I think that they had the Irish in such a precarious position that it made the famine worse.
Different poster than you replied to, here, but I found this article that has some potential: https://mises.org/library/what-caused-irish-potato-famine