Summary And Critique Of ' Land And Population

The majority of the population consisted of peasants. The peasants, because they had nothing to lose, would marry very frequently, at young ages, and they would have many children. People were able to get married and have so many children because they were able to feed their families with the potato crop, which “could be grown anywhere, even on the most miniscule of plots, and contained just enough nutrients to sustain the life of the poor” (Diner 6). When the potato blight struck Ireland the population dropped by approximately 2 million people, both from deaths and people emigrating to America. People were devastated and realized they had to make changes in order to survive. There was no longer enough food to support a large family, therefore, marriage rates and birth rates dropped

In the early 1800s life in Ireland wasn’t easy, Irish citizens got by day to day by farming and relying on the potato. The potato was their main source of food and money. With out the potato the Irish would have nothing. No one was prepared for what was about to happen in 1845, the beginning of the Great Irish Potato Famine.

     Nineteenth-century Ireland was the most densely populated country in Europe: in 1800, its population was 4.5 million, and by 1841, it had risen to eight million (Kinealy 15). Yet much of this population existed in condition of sorrow and misery lay in the dependence of the peasantry on just one staple crop, the potato; in western countries like Mayo and Galway, nine-tenths of the people ate nothing else (MacManus 602). Here was a disaster waiting to happen, made worst by the rapid rise in population in the first half of the century which forced the peasants to subsist on smaller plots of land (O Grada, The Great Irish Famine 63).

The Irish people would have freight, terror, death and eventually peace with these changes. The potato famine started with blight being discovered by European farmers. The Irish government started to export potatoes and grains to continental Europe to help the Europeans avoid a famine (Smith, 2011). By the end of August of 1845, Ireland was freighted to find out that blight had found its way to their produce (Smith, 2011). The blight in Ireland set off a chain of events that led to the Irish people dying in more ways to get out of Ireland. The government started trying to feed their people by importing corn and grains for food (Smith, 2011). This was not enough to help the young, old and sick. Many of theIrish people were led to complete financial ruin. By the end of 1851 more than a million Irish had died due to hunger and disease exacerbated by malnutrition(Smith, 2011).The only answer for many Irish families was to take a risk and get on a coffin boat and flee to another country. North America was a safe haven for many Irish people. They dreamed of the life they would live in the U.S.A. Nearly 1 million people arrived in many cities which include New York, and Boston (Smith, 2011). When the Irish people arrived, it was a sad reality they did not think they would face. The conditions were despicable. Many families were moved into small rooms with no sanitation, ventilation, day light or electricity (Smith, 2011). The families were charged about $1.50 per week to live in extreme poverty (Smith, 2011). This led to unsanitary conditions for the communities. Diseases were able to thrive in those conditions and one of the more common disease was cholera . The Irish people usually stayed in close proximity to each other and would make a small Irish community. The Irish community strived to make money. They were only hired for unskilled jobs

The Irish began immigrating to North America in the 1820s, when the lack of jobs and poverty forced them to seek better opportunities elsewhere after the end of the major European wars. When the Europeans could finally stop depending on the Irish for food during war, the investment in Irish agricultural products reduced and the boom was over. After an economic boom, there comes a bust and unemployment was the result. Two-thirds of the people of Ireland depended on potato harvests as a main source of income and, more importantly, food. Then between the years of 1845 and 1847, a terrible disease struck the potato crops. The plague left acre after acre of Irish farmland covered with black rot. The failure of the

Before the notorious potato famine, many Irish were moving across the Atlantic to America in hopes of a more prosperous, uncomplicated and trouble-free lifestyle. Irish emigrants looked at America to offer a higher standard of living through high wages and low commodity costs. With the myths of an easily attainable lifestyle existing in America, it is no wonder why later; there were so many potato famine-era immigrants that they established the basis for the significant Irish population and ethnicity in the United States. The emphasis in the last proposition, however, is on the word myth. Many of those fleeing Ireland may or may not have believed that America would offer a prosperous and uncomplicated lifestyle. But most did believe that

More than a million Irish people died during The Irish Potato famine that hit Ireland between 1845 to 1849 (Pollard, pg. 551). Potatoes were the primary diet of the Irish, especially the Irish Lump potato. When the fungal disease hit, known as “potato blight,” the Irish potato crops were lost. After reading primary sources regarding the Irish Potato Famine, the reader can visualize the horrors that the Irish people endured during the famine including starvation, the physical and the mental effects that go along with it, the loss of family members, and especially witnessing their children starve and die. Both W. Stewart Trench and William Bennett had the purpose and intent of recording

In the early 1800’s, relations between Ireland and England were tense. The English were building their support by enforcing plantations, pieces of land that once belonged to indigenous Catholic Irish and putting the ownership to the incoming settlers from England and Scotland. Therefore, the impoverished Irish rented their land out from the wealthier owners who resided miles and miles away. In the 1800’s, the majority of Ireland was dependant on potatoes, as it was cheap and easy to grow for the enormous poor population that resided there. In 1845, toxic disease spread through all of Europe’s potatoes, greatly affecting the Irish, who were enormously dependent on the crop. Because the strong belief in the laissez-faire policy, which prevents

The mid-late 1800’s, immigration is rampant within the United States, approximately 12,000,000 foreigners are attempting to enter the country, searching for a second chance or a fresh start (“Rise of Industrial America, 1876-1900”). Among the many nationalities immigrating were the Irish, coming to the Land of The Free in an attempt to escape the famine, disease, and poverty that lingered from the Great Potato Famine. The potential for a clean slate was so tempting that between 1820 and 1930, as many as 4.5 million Irish came to America (“Irish-Catholic Immigration to America”). However, despite the promise of opportunity, the Irish was not welcomed, nor were they particularly wanted. The Irish faced considerable obstacles when they first arrived in

The turmoil of the second decade of the twentieth century gave way to a greater sense of peace and stability in the third, with a peace treaty signed between Ireland and Britain in December of 1921 and Home Rule finally established for most of the Irish isle (Ferriter, n.d.). At the same time, this new society did not lead to instant prosperity, and indeed poverty remained a major and growing problem in Ireland during this decade (Ferriter, n.d.). Economic and social problems that persisted during this decade certainly could have been pushes to increased immigration.

During this time it is clear that many changes were occurring in Ireland, a land that was once dominated by tradition was now becoming a modernized country. Where then does

The Irish Famine 1845-1849 “Is ar scáth a chiéle a maireann na daoine” “It is with each other’s protection that the people live” From the Fifteenth through to the Nineteenth centuries English Monarchies and Governments had consistently enacted laws which it seems were designed to oppress the Irish and suppress and destroy Irish Trade and manufacturing. In the Penal laws of 1695 which aimed to destroy Catholicism, Catholics were forbidden from practicing their religion, receiving education, entering a profession, or purchasing or leasing land; since Catholics formed eighty percent of the Irish population, this effectively deprived the Irish of any part in civil life in their own country.

Ireland 1845, food was suddenly scarce, money was hard to earn, and what little was earned was immediately spent for survival. The people of Ireland had grown up used to missing meals due to crop failure. However, previous crop failures couldn’t compare to the potato famine of 1845. For the next five years, the blight destroyed nearly all the potato crops and killed many Irish. About one million people died during this time in Ireland because of the starvation and disease. About two million fled the lands of Ireland in hopes of escaping the starvation, disease, death, and poverty that had taken over Ireland since the famine. The tenant farmers, who suffered would farm land that belonged to the absentee landlords. They would grow many crops, most of which were very successful. They were only allowed to keep the potato crops for their own; the rest of the crops would be harvested and exported to England. The absentee landlords lived like kings while the tenant farmers were forced to sell everything they owned so they could have money to purchase food to stay alive. When they ran out of things to sell they were then forced to scavenge for food scraps just to escape death for a while longer. The starvation and struggle of the Irish tenant farmers could have been avoided if the absentee landlords hadn’t been so greedy with collecting the rent. England could have come to the aid of the Irish people sooner than they did if they weren’t so interested in staying true to their

In 1841 to 1850, the loss of potatoes caused about 1.3 million people to emigrate overseas, 70% went to the U.S.A., 28% went to Canada, and 2% went to Australia. During the emigration of Ireland many people had to pay for their own fares to emigrate to the U.S.A., Canada, and Australia. The Fares that were paid for emigration by landlords were only about 3% and these people were usually sent to Canada because these were the cheapest fares, and they were usually sent overseas on coffin ships. To emigrate to the U.S.A was a little more expensive, usually the ones that could afford to pay a little more to emigrate went to the U.S.A. to seek work. Irish immigrant labor in America consisted of unskilled factory workers, which also included children; and Irish males provided much of the labor to construct railroads. Many Irish women could speak English, helping women get jobs as servants in the homes of wealthy second and third generation Americans. In the 1800’s The Irish Potato Famine caused many to die of starvation forcing others to emigrate, leaving about 5 million people in Ireland; in 1845 about 8.2 million, and in 1851 about 6.2 million. Presently there are about 5 million people residing in Ireland and another estimated 20 million Irish scattered throughout the world.

In 1845-47 one million people died as a result of the famine, yet the response of the Irish government to the famine was minimal. “The famine years witnessed the workhouses become overcrowded centres of disease and destitution – in March 1851, 250,611 people were paupers receiving poor relief in the workhouse” (Feriter,2004,p.52) .Voluntary groups such as the Quakers emerged nineteenth century and established soup kitchens.