The Great Famine
Ireland in 1840
Ireland was ruled directly from London
The population grew rapidly during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The British government ruled through a Lord Lieutenant in the Vice-regal Lodge in Phoenix Park and a Chief Secretary in Dublin Castle
In 1841, 8.2 million people lived in Ireland
Most people lived in the countryside
Only three cities had populations more than 50,000 - Dublin, Cork and Belfast.
Only Belfast was industrialised
The land
Landlords owned most of the land
Landlords were descendants of the planters who received land in the plantations of the 16th and 17th centuries
They rented the land to tenant farmers
In turn, these farmers worked their land, and some employed labourers to help them
The landlord's agent collected rent twice a year.
Tenants could be evicted for a lot of things but they were usually evicted for not paying their rent.
Some labourers were cottiers
Cottiers rented small plots of ground, called conacre, from a farmer.
In return they worked on the farm to pay of the rent
Some labourers didn't get any land
These were the poorest people, they lived in mud cabins on the edge of towns, or rented rooms in lodging houses
Poverty in the country
There was a lot of poverty in Ireland during the 1840s
The causes of poverty were the growth of population, the failed harvests and dependence on farming.
Many people emigrated due to this
In total, 1.5 million people emigrated to the United States, Canada and England, in the thirty years before the famine
For poor people living in Ireland, there was workhouses
The British government passed a Poor Law Act in 1838
This set up Poor Law Unions (or districts) which each had a workhouse
People who needed help moved to workhouses
Conditions in the workhouses were horrible and families were split up
Causes of the Great Famine
Dependence on the potato
Blight
Subdivision of the land
Rise in population
Blight is a disease that attacks and rots potatoes.
When the blight came to Ireland and destroyed the crops, those who depended on the blight had nothing to eat and starved
The population of Ireland grew from 6.8 million (1821) to 8.2 million (1841), in spite of emigration.
Some areas were more densely populated than others, such as counties in Connacht
As the population increased, so did the poverty
The poorest were the cottiers, labourers and small farmers with less than 5 acres of land
The poorer families depended on the potato to live.
Their 3 meals a day consisted of only potatoes
Most people at the time depended on farming because the manufacturing industry was not developed like in Britain
As the population grew, fathers subdivided their land between their sons and gave a dowry to their daughters.
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Some farmers sublet their land as conacre to pay for labourers
By the 1840s, the potato was almost the only food 4 million families ate
As the farms got smaller, families became poorer
Government responses
1845
The government of Sir Robert Peel acted quickly when reports of the blight came in
Peel ordered £100,000 (€10.2 million) worth of Indian corn to be imported, which is enough to feed 1 million people.
This was sold through government depots
This greatly helped reduce the impact of the famine
Peel also set up public work schemes so that poor people could earn money by working on roads and piers
1846
British government policy towards the famine changed when Lord John Russell became Prime Minister
The new government believed in a policy of laissez-faire
They believed that the government shouldn't interfere in the workings of the economy
They said government interference would only make matters worse because it would encourage landlords and tenants to do little to improve the situation
They also believed that 'Irish property (the landlords) should pay for Irish poverty'
The government expanded the public work schemes for roads and piers.
1847
750,000 people were employed in public work schemes
The government passed the Soup Kitchen Act, after seeing the success of the Quaker's soup kitchens
Soup was cooked in large boilers and given to the people
3 million people were fed each day
In September the government closed down the soup kitchens after six months
They said all relief would be provided through the workhouses
Workhouses
Workhouses were built when a law was passed in 1838 that stated workhouses should be built for the poor
Workhouses were overcrowded and conditions were bad and disease spread quickly
By 1848, there were almost 200,000 people in the workhouses, built for about 100,000
Entering the workhouse
By August 1846, there was around 128 workhouses
Once they entered the workhouse, people had to wear a uniform and were given a very basic diet
The main food was called stirabout and was similar to oatmeal porridge
When families entered the workhouse they were split into men, women, boys and girls
Some families never saw each other again
Life in the workouse
Life was harsh and frequently cruel
There was little to do and people were often hungry, frustrated, badly treated, bored and hopeless
The inmates often broke the rules and fought amongst themselves
Some preferred prison to the workhouse because food was better and the regime was not as strict
Sickness
People were often sick when they entered the workhouses
Many inmates died of diseases, which spread quickly in the workhouses
The main diseases were Typhus, Cholera and Dysentery
Inmates had to follow strict rules
They were not allowed to play cards
They were not allowed to disobey orders
They were only allowed one meal a day
Emigration
Between 1845 and 1855, 2 million Irish people emigrated to America and Australia and 750,000 to Britain
Landlords who wanted to clear their estates helped some
Others, sent one family member over to work in order to pay for passage of the rest of the family later
The ships were often unstable for the difficult voyage to North America.
Conditions were so bad they were called 'coffin ships'
For many people, the only way to escape from the famine was emigration
The term 'coffin ships' came from the amount of people who died before reaching their destination
In 1847, it was estimated that 1 in every 6 passengers died before reaching their destination
Voyages took many months at a time
Since ships were overcrowded living quarters were a small area on the lower decks
A family of four was usually assigned six square feet
To squeeze into such a small space, they had to sleep head to toe
There was no hygiene on the ships
Passengers were not allowed more than an hour a day on the deck of the ship to get clean air
The rest of the day they would spend below deck, where there were no showers, kitchens or bathrooms
When they had to use the bathroom they would use a bucket
They ate, slept and relieved themselves in the same space as their fellow passengers which meant diseases spread easily
They usually ate hardtack (a hard cracker made of flour and water) or nothing at all
The only fresh water onboard was stored in barrels and often became contaminated
Some ships even ran out of food and water before landing
Some of these ships were so unseaworthy that they sank and drowned all on board
Consequences of the Famine
Fall in population
The population of Ireland fell by at least 2 million between 1845 and 1851.
In all, 1 million died from hunger and disease, while 1 million emigrated
The cottiers and agricultural labourers were worse hit
The countries along the western seaboard fell the most in population
The population continued to decline after the famine due to emigration and a low birth rate
Emigration continued to America, Canada and Britain, and this, along with earlier emigration created the Irish Diaspora (The scattering of the Irish population around the world)
Decline in the Irish language
The Irish-speaking areas in the West and South-West of Ireland were the worst hit by death and emigration
This contributed to the decline of the Irish language
Subdivision ended
The practice of subdividing the land ended
Instead, the eldest son got the land, and other sons and daughters were forced to emigrate
The eldest son only got the farm when his father died, so he married late
There was also clearance of estates during the famine and this, combined with the ending of subdivision, resulted in larger farms
This reduced the birth rate in Ireland
Anti-British feeling
The British government was blamed for the Famine by the Irish, both at home and abroad.
Ships full of produce such as barley and wheat had left Ireland while the people were starving
Anger at this fact led to increasing support for groups such as the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Who wanted to drive the British out of Ireland using violence.