the Irish Potato Famine
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There are many quick to blame the Irish Potato Famine on the fungus that destroyed Ireland’s potato crops, a fungus known as Phytophthora infestans or blight. However, the unmitigated disaster for the Irish people was actually the result of complex and multidimensional factors, including politics, cultural animosity, and poverty. During the first half of the 19th century, the Irish peasantry existed under abominable conditions. Ireland was a conquered country. Most of the population were Irish Catholic peasants, peasants who were forced to lease their lands from a small group of Protestants of the Church of England. The Protestant landlords cared little about the conditions of the Irish peasantry and exploited them as much as possible for profit. Peasants had no incentive to improve their rented lands, and anything they made over and above sustenance levels were extorted from them. There was no escape from poverty and the peasantry married early and had large numbers of children as a source of labor and as protection from starvation “Children were a precious asset, for there was absolutely no welfare or social security system, and an infirm or aged person’s best hope to escape starvation was a dutiful son or a loving daughter.” The Irish population continued to grow, while its survival became increasingly dependent on one crop, the potato. As the population grew, the potato became an even more crucial staple. However
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loans in 1845-1846.” However, unknown to Peel and others, the corm meal was empty of significant nutrients needed for survival and it helped caused dysentery and other ailments to spread, killing more people than it saved.
There is some justification for those who feel the British could have done more to help the Irish peasantry, and for the argument that years of religious and political animosity may have robbed Britain of the motivation to help. For example, the English government continued to export Irish food during the famine but they justified this by claiming they did not want to totally close down the Irish agricultural economy or add to welfare rolls. However, worries over welfare numbers and the agricultural economy seem self-serving in a disaster where millions of people are starving and many of them dying. Another example is the dismissal of the English Prime Minister for his actions in aiding the Irish “The Protective Tariff on grain was repealed: The Repeal of the Corn Laws was a step designed to lower the cost of grain to the Irish. The decision was not popular in England and because he helped the Irish in this way the English Prime Minister was put out of office.”
The wealthy in Britain were most opposed
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1945
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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