Topic 5 - The Irish Famine

Why were potatoes such a popular and staple crop for Ir farmers?

• High in vitamin C

• Starchy - energising and filling for manual labour

• Easy to grow (no specialised conditions)

• Low maintenance

• Higher yield than grain

What was the limitation of potatoes as a crop?

They don’t keep/store well

What variety of potato was most common?

Lumper potato

In 1841, what fraction of Ir were dependant on agriculture for their livelihood?

2/3

What was the relationship between Landlords and middlemen?

Landlords would let land in packages (usually over 1,000 acres) on long leases to locals (middlemen)

Why did landlords need to employ managers (middlemen)? What was the job of the middlemen?

Many landlords were absentee, living in England not Ir due to Ir land given to Eng/Scot nobles in 16th cent

Middlemen were to manage the land to maintain good income from the land to the LL

How would the middleman make income? What was the issue of this?

Becoming a sort of LL himself - subdividing land renting to tenant farmers

Issue: maximising income → smaller + smaller packages of land

How would the tenant farmers mirror the middlemen?

Letting sections of land to cottiers in return for labour or crop

Who were cottiers?

Poorest in society - tied to small plots of land due to system of middlemen

The continual … of land → Increasing … price → … plots of land being rented → Ir made of …, …. fragile farmers

The continual subdivision of land → Increasing rent price → small plots of land being rented → Ir made of small, economically fragile farmers

Why was the fact that the land lord got a fixed rate from the middleman an issue?

No incentive to invest in his land/fix problems → land not achieving full potential

Most farmers could only afford plots that would feed themselves and their family. This is evidenced by the fact. that in 1841, only …% of holdings were over … acres

This is evidenced by the fact. that in 1841, only 7% of holdings were over 30 acres

How many cottiers were in Ir on the 1840s?

300,000

Cottiers could only afford to sustain their own families. They lived … … …

Hand to mouth

What was the huge issue with small land holdings?

• Not enough land to be left to fallow (soil exhausted)

• No surplus in case of bad harvest - potatoes not keeping well

• Relying on monoculture (often potato)

Farmers working at capacity - no capacity for issues

Potatoes accounted for what fraction of Ir agricultural output?

1/5

When was there news from Eng of a fungus attacking potato crop? When did it reach Ir?

August 1845

Septembers 1845

How much of the potato crop was ruined in 1845?

How much in 1846?

1/3

3/4

What diseases were common during the famine? Explain the effect of them

Relapsing fever and typhus - ‘famine fever’

Scurvy - lack of vit C

Xerophthalmia (causes blindness) - lack of vit A

Young and Old impacted especially

Why was 1847 so significant? How many died in the first months of 1847?

‘Black 47’

Worst year of famine, people already weakened and have no crop

250,000 died in the first months alone

Why were more rural areas impacted particularly badly? Give an example

More dependent on agriculture and many people with small holdings

Co. Cavan - 43% mortality rate

Why were cottiers particularly badly impacted?

Smallholdings → monoculture → limited crop and no spare yield → homelessness and travelling country for food

Overall → decr in cottier class

TRUE OR FALSE: wealthier farmers felt the impact of the famine

TRUE: whilst not as much as cottiers, farmers with 10-15 acres also not big enough to fully withstand famine

Between 1845-51 the drop of acreage of potatoes was how much?

¾ drop in acreage

How many people migrated during the famine?

How many people died during the famine?

1 mil migrated by 1851 (20% of pop)

1 mil died by 1851 (20% of pop)

Where did most people migrate to?

North America and UK

Overall subdivision of land whilst good for … …, was brutal in crating a … system as it mean no … crop was created

Overall subdivision of land whilst good for rental income, was brutal in creating a fragile system as it mean no surplus crop was created

What were the two PM’s during the famine? What party were tey?

Robert Peel (Con) - 1841-46

Lord John Russel (Whig) - 1846-52

What/when 4 key actions happened under Peel to help the famine?

• Scientific Commission, 1845

• Relief Programme, 1845

• Relief Commission, 1845

• Repealed Corn Laws, 1846

What was the 1845 Scientific Commission? Was is effective?

• Under chemist Dr Playfair investigating blight to prevent spread

• Didn’t identifying fungus → ineffective treatment of sprinkling seed with hydrochloric acid

What was the 1845 Relief Programme? How was it limited?

• £100,000 of ‘Indian Corn’ (maize) to Ir

Limits

• Ir pop not knowing how to cook it → diarrhoea → loss of nutrients in famine and lack of vit C → scurvy

• Insufficient volume - £100,000 maize vs £3.5mil loss of potatoes)

What was the 1845 Relief Commission? How was it funded?

• Established public works programmes focusing on long-term solutions

• Food and emp to 140,000

• Funded by gov and voluntary donations

What were the corn laws that Peel repealed in 1846? Why did he do this? What reaction did this spark in Br?

Was it effective?

• Tariffs to protect Br corn

• Repealed to ^ trade of Ir corn to support recovery of Ir agriculture

• → uproar in Br and gov → Peel having to resign

• Ir had little £ to establish corn indust anyway so largely ineffective

The Whig party was historically more sympathetic to Ir cause, however what two ideologies were they influenced by which arguably limited this?

• Lassaiz Faire - no gov intervention, free market, allow market to regulate itself

• Malthus’ ideas on population - Natural cycle of food supply vs pop. Not enough food was sign that pop was too high → pop should naturally decr until its efficient again

When/What was the Temporary Relief Destitute Persons Act? Was it successful?

1847 - gov funded soup kitchens using cheap recipe by Ldn chef, Soyer. 100 gallons for £1.

Insufficient for scale of famine

When was the Ir Poor Law Extension Act and Ir Poor Law Amendment Act?

1847

What were the positives of the Ir Poor Law Extension Act and Ir Poor Law Amendment Act?

• Ir people had right to relief - not dependant on poor law officials

• Relief outside of workhouses if workhouses full/disease ridden

What were the limitations of the Ir Poor Law Extension Act and Ir Poor Law Amendment Act?

• Ir poor law commission - relief funded by Ir tax payers (Br no longer responsible). Most of Ir poor, not in position to pay for relief → mostly paid by Ir LL

• Gregory Clause - relief only to those with under ¼ acre (most cottiers have over ¼ ) → either no relief or giving up land to receive relief

• → LL evicting tenant with land over ¼

As a result of the Gregory Clause and Ir taxpayers now paying to poor relief, how many were forcibly evicted from Ballinlass, Galway? What did LL do instead?

300

Used land for grazing → no responsibility of relief

How many cargo ships left Ir in 1847? What does this show?

‘Black 47’ - 4000 food cargo ships left Ir

• Economic growth and stability came above the starving people

• Br was reluctant to intervene in trade and close ports

• The quantities leaving Ir were less than food Br was bringing over to Ir

What key decision did Russel make in 1847? Why?

Stopped buying ‘Indian Corn’

Done due to beliefs in free market

What key individual was a student of Malthus? What was his role in the Br gov? How did Ir nationalist view him?

Charles Trevelyan - Under Secretary to treasury (involved in finances of Br)

Heavily disliked - key indiv in non-interventionism

What did Trevelyan impose for those involved in public works?

• Setting wages in public works lower than local levels

• Refused public work to anyone who could find agricultural work

• Paid by task not day - malnourishment woud → slower pace of work → not receiving as much by task

What quote from Trevelyan shows his attitudes towards Ir and the famine? How does this impact his reaction to Ir?

“God sent the calamity to teach the Ir a lesson”

• Shows its not just lib policies but personal vendettas against Ir people, believing they’re lazy so excessive relief would → dependency culture

What agitation group was prominent during the famine?

Young Ireland

Who was John Mitchel?

Irish Journalist. for The Nation - the YI newspaper

What did Mitchel discuss in his articles? Who did he single out as part of this?

Blaming Br for severity of famine - singling out Trevelyan

What did Mitchel call for? What did his writing arguably lead to?

Radical calls for armed insurrection and agrarian revolution - increased spark for nationalist sentiment after AoU in 1801

Largely inspired and influenced 1848 YI uprising

How can one criticise Trevelyan?

• Lassaiz Faire

• Soup Kitchens

• Maize

• Characterisation

• Bessborough

• Belief in Lassaiz-Faire → minimal relief e.g Public Works being paid by task not day

• Ended Soup Kitchen provision in 1847

• Stopped gov provision of maize forcing people into workhouses

• negative characterisation of Ir people as lazy

• Non-Irish Lord Bessborough criticised him for lack of sympathy/awareness of Ir conditions

How can one praise Trevelyan?

• Dependancy

• Others

• £10 mill

• Responsibility

• Trevelyan conscious of not wanting dependency culture in Ir

• Others had similar views e.g Malthus, Bentham

• Br spent £10mil overall on Relief to Ir

• Issues such as failing transport systems not Trevelyan’s responsibility

Name the 5 social impacts of the famine

• Decline in Gaelic language

• Decline of Cottier class

• Desire for Larger landholdings

• Later age of marriage

• Devotional revolution

Explain the decline in the Gaelic language. By what % did the language decline by in 1851?

In rural areas the lagnuage passed down from older people and famine particularly impacted rural areas and youngest and oldest of society

By 1851, 50% decr in Gaelic

By how much did the cottier class decline over the course. of the famine?

300,000 → 62,000

Famine impact the poorest of society the most

Why was there a desire for larger land holdings? By how much did the the amount of larger farmers ^?

Desire to avoid monoculture and subdivision → large farmers ^ by 37,000

Why was there a later age of marriage?

The have fewer children to avoid subdivision of land

What was the devotional revolution?

Cottiers had more pagan/superstitious/old Ir trads within Catholicism.

Decline of cottiers → this dying out → ^ formalised catholicism and more power from Cath Church

Name the three Economic impacts of the Famine?

• Shift from Tillage to pasture grazing

• ^ farmer income and size of holdings

• Growth of coffin operation

Was Ir dependent on Tillage pre-famine?

Yes - known as the ‘breadbasket of the UK' with most of crops being sold to Br

Why was there a shift from tillage to pasture?

Tillage was labour dependent and that was not wanted during famine

Wanting no labour costs and less responsibility for poor relief to be paid by LL (under new reforms relief paid by Ir tax payers)

What did the shift from Tillage to Pasture lead to?

^ evictions

By how much did the average farmer income change? Why was this?

^ by 2/3

Due to switch from tillage to pasture

Helped by Gregory Clause

What were coffin operations?

To transport migrants to USA

Crossing companies exploiting migrants offering many spaces on ships → overcrowding and large levels of death over the 40 day crossing

Name the 6 political impacts of the famine

• Large landowners gained more land

• Landowners less reliant of other people now focusing on cattle

• Some sympathetic LL

• Lower classes died/migrated/evicted

• ^ nationalism

• Encumbered Estates Act

What was the consequence of large land owners gaining more land?

^ political power of those at the top (polarisation)

What scheme showed the sympathy of some LLs? What were the motives for this?

LL Assisted Emigration scheme - payng part of travel cotst for former tenants to migrate

Possible noble motivation but also small price to pay for getting dependence of their land (personal gain)

Amongst what group of people was there a large ^ in nationalism? Give an example of this?

Those who migrated

1848 YI uprising getting support from USA → IRB fenian groups in USA many of whom were most impacted by famine → ^ anti-Br feel in Ir pockets of USA

When/What was the Encumbered Estates Act?What did it lead to?

By 1859, how much land was sold in this way?

1849

• legal justification forcing sale of land if in debt

• 3 commissioners could forcibly sell land via auction

• Meant wealthier LL could expand plot and by more land at these forced auctions whereas smaller farmers forcibly losing their land

By 1859, 5 mil acres of land sold this way

How many emigrated in 1846?

106,000

Why was migration hard? Why did people still migrate?

• Cost (£2-5)

• Cultural ties to Ir

Many had no choice after failed crops and evictions

How long was the journey to north america?

40 days

What was the first ‘coffin ship’ to arrive in Canada? When? How many passengers? How many passengers had fever?

Syria in 1847

2412 passengers, 202 with fevers

What was the average fraction of those who would die on the trips? What were common causes of death?

1/5 on average would die often of malnutrition or Typhus

What shows the horrible effect of disease on board coffin ships?

Unhealthy bodies tosses overboard

Ships quarantined on arrival

What was an example of LL assisted emigration with genuine humanitarian intent? Was this typical?

Lord Palmerston (Br foreign sec during famine later to be PM) shipped 2000 tenants at great personal expense

Many LL however just wanted to get rid of tenants for dependency of their land