Irish Famine
Portrait of John Russell (1792–1878)
The Great Irish Famine began in 1845 when a fungus, Phytophthora infestans, spread throughout Ireland, ruining up to a half of the potato crop that year. When the blight returned in 1846 with stronger effects, a food crisis ensued that lasted for four years and drove Ireland into a nightmare of hunger and disease.
The disastrous effects of the infestation were worsened by the actions and inactions of the Whig government led by the Prime Minister (PM) of Great Britain Lord John Russell in the years from 1846 – 1852.
The Famine resulted in the death of over a million people, with at least another two million migrating from their homeland.
Succeeding a series of ‘plantations’, the potato was introduced to Ireland by colonial settlers. Following this, a tripartite structure emerged, with Anglo-Irish landlords at the top, followed by tenants who farmed their land (without many rights), then labourers or cottiers’ at the bottom. The labourers weren’t paid in cash, instead they were given a small plot of land that they could live off. Subsequently, the labourers became heavily dependent on the potato as a source of food, with the crop providing up to 60% of the nation’s food needs.
DID YOU KNOW...?
Tenant farmers are people who farm on rented land
An Irish Peasant Family Discovering the Blight of their Store
When the crops started to fail in 1845, most agricultural labourers were unable to produce sufficient food for their own consumption. As the labourers were not paid in cash, they could not afford to buy the various other products being produced in Ireland such as meat, dairy and corn - all of which were being exported to Great Britain.
In 1845 Irish leaders petitioned to PM John Peel to act, leading to the repeal of the so-called ‘Corn Laws’ that added tariffs on grain.
When Lord John Russel became PM in 1846 after Peel’s administration collapsed, his government adopted the policy of ‘laissez faire’ economics.
DID YOU KNOW...?
Laissez-faire, the predominant economic theory at the time, believed that there should be as little government interference with the economy as possible.
Russel’s government was criticised for not prohibiting the export of grain from Ireland, particularly during the harsh winter of 1846-47, not ensuring imported food was distributed to those in greatest need when imports began a year later, and for cutting relief measures.
One relief measure cut was the “soup kitchen” scheme. Used by approximately three million people, the project was cut after only being in effect for six months during the largest harvest deficiency in 1847 despite the scheme being effective and cheap to run.
The British government was also scrutinised for failing to restrain the large scale evictions of families of impoverished farmers and labourers who could no longer afford to pay rent.
DID YOU KNOW...?
Up to 500,000 people were evicted from their homes in the years between 1846 – 1854.
Emigrants Leave Ireland by Henry Doyle 1868
The famine also led to mass migration, with two million emigrating between 1845 - 1855. This trend continued throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to a permanent decline in the Irish population.
This migration led to a fatal blow to the Irish language, spoken by up to half of the population prior to the famine but only used by 15% by 1900.
Irish nationalists pointed blame on the famine towards the British Government and saw it as an invincible argument in favour of self-government.
