Ireland has had a hard history. From continual struggles with Britain to several famines, the Irish have been a very ill-fated people. The worst famine, by far, was the Potato Famine of the 1840's. Starting in late 1845, the famine took an estimated one million lives, and drove another two million to travel to the Continent or to the United States.
It began with a harsh mix of circumstances that Ireland could not control. A deep dependence on potatoes, a strange disease that traveled the Atlantic from the States and a financial crisis in Britain all worked together to bring about a tragedy that should never be forgotten. The Irish government though, after the famine, officially declared that the price paid was worth the benefits. (Grada 58) The price was roughly one million lives, one out of every nine Irishmen. Thought the country was suffering because of poverty and overpopulation and the famine did provide a solution to this, it should not be lauded as a "good thing."
The years before the Potato Famine of the late 1840's, the population of Ireland was growing out of control. A simple economic analysis reveals that an increase in population in such a small country can have harsh consequences. The demand for food and work grew to be very high, but the land could only provide so much and the country as a whole was very poor, so imports were not an easy answer. These conditions led to many "smaller" famines.
In 1740, Ireland was hit by a famine, but this was due to a harsh cold snap. This cold snap destroyed both root and cereal crops. Typhus, dysentery and roadside deaths, all indicative of a difficult famine, persisted into 1741. (Grada 12)
There were several other famines during the 1700's, including the years 1755, 1766 and 1783. These famines are poorly documented, so an evaluation of death in those years is difficult. (Grada 13) It is guessed, though, that their magnitude was not nearly that of the famine of the 1840's. Other famines during 1800, 1816 to 1819 and in 1822 all caused the death of thousands of people, but none of them brought the population level under limits that Ireland could adequately withstand. Ireland had grown to be the home of over eight million people.
(Grada 18) Once these famines were under control, Ireland was still in the predicament of dealing with a ridiculous number of poor.
An Irish census taken in 1841 cited that only 117 people died of starvation in the 1830's. (Grada 17) These people had lived off of the potato. It was difficult for them to get enough food sometimes, but the potato crop yielded enough to feed twice the people that a wheat crop would have. (Grada 55) It was essentially the only source of food for almost one-third of Ireland, the Irish enjoyed it. (Grada 17) It also managed to keep most of the poor fed and living.
In 1590, Ireland was introduced to potatoes. (Grada 15) They were brought over from Spain, and quickly grew to be the country's number one staple. The climate and soil did not allow for very long or productive seasons of grain crops, but it did allow for a seven to nine month season for the potato. (Grada 16) Irish laborers, who tended to eat only potatoes, would eat as much as twelve to fourteen pounds of them a day. (Grada 17) These potatoes had proved to be a very reliable crop for the Irish, and when the <i>Phytophthera infestans</i>, also know as the potato blight hit in 1845, it was only taken as a bad year for the potatoes by the Irish government. The populace was tending more towards panic, but no one in government expected the crop to continue on into the next several seasons. (Kinealy 33)
In the spring of 1846 the famine began to hit hard. "Although the effects of the disease were unlikely to be felt until the . . . spring and summer (of 1846) there was a general feeling that the government should act quickly to meet the anticipated crisis." (Kinealy 33) In November of 1845, the Mansion House Committee was formed to try to address the hunger throughout Ireland. The committee examined several reasons for the loss of the potato crop. The two predominate theories were posed by Professor Lindley and Reverend M.J. Berkeley. Professor Lindley blamed the blight on the still, damp weather of Ireland. The potatoes rotted because of the excess moisture, according to his theory. Reverend Berkeley, a fungal specialist, suggested that the cause of the blight was a fungus that fed on the potatoes as a parasite. The committee decided to accept Professor Lindley's theory, which was supported by most experts. As it turns out, reverend Berkeley was correct in his assumption. (Grada 33)
The committee sent out word to potato farmers to store their potatoes in well-ventilated pits. They also took action in other forms. It was decided "that the employment on public works be commenced, the export of corn be stopped, and distilleries be closed." (Kinealy 33) Few people died in the first year of the blight because of the actions of the committee and the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, who had also taken action by arranging for the storage of one hundred thousand pounds worth of corn. (Grada 33)
The country, though, looked anxiously towards the next season's harvest. With a season that lasts as long as the potato season does, there was not much waiting for the next harvest to begin. The country was not prepared for another poor season. Over the summer, the government provided almost three million people daily with soup from soup kitchens across the country. The mortality rate did fall over this time period, but in September, when the potato crop was expected to begin again, the soup kitchens were all closed down. (Grada 38) After this closure, the burden of helping people was passed to work houses throughout Ireland. The problem here was the workhouses were not intended for a crisis of such a huge magnitude as this famine. They grew in their capacity, but "outdoor relief was widely relied upon." (Grada 39) The work houses could only handle twenty percent of the people who were in need. Outdoor relief had to take care of the other eighty percent. (Grada 39)
The decision to stop the soup kitchens was one of frustration and callous denial. The government in essence was saying that the famine was over. Instead of going away, as the government apparently hoped it would, the crisis was only prolonged by this maneuver. (Grada 39)
The worst period of the famine began just as the government decided to declare it over. The winter of 1847 was harsh and the food was nonexistent. The day's wage for a laborer was much less than the daily price of food for a single person. It was virtually impossible for a man to feed himself, much less his family. (Grada 34)
This timing was poor in that Britain was reeling in a financial crisis during this time period. The value of cotton dropped by twenty five percent of its value. Several factors led to an increase in the cost of credit, which caused many companies to be embarrassed. The Bank of England had its hands full trying to handle this crisis. With this to keep their attention, the leaders of Britain placed the troubles of Ireland on the back burner. (Grada 39)
The press also stopped focusing on the starvation in Ireland. After so many stories of death and hunger, the English public became callous to the suffering of their neighbors and the interest in it fell off. Despite this lack of press support, imports from foreign countries increased greatly in the years of 1847-48. This increase of food supply began the end of the famine, but the deaths still continued. Roadside starvation was very common in 1847 and 1848 despite the influx of support from other nations. The food was not distributed quickly and was often too expensive for the starving laborers.
A huge problem was the breakout of famine fever, typhus and dysentery. All these diseases killed many people. In 1849, cholera struck the starving population, adding even more to the death toll. It is difficult to say exactly how the famine affected these diseases. The famine weakened most of the population so that they were more vulnerable to sickness than normal. When sick, malnutrition did not allow people to recover as they might have had they been properly nourished. (Kinealy 173) By the end of the 1840's, an estimated one in nine Irishmen had died. (Komlos 19)
The effects of the famine, though, did not simply stop. The actual date of the end of the famine is debated still. Generally, though, the early 1850's are considered the end. The potato blight pestered Ireland's potato crop until 1914, when the use of copper sulphate solution became widespread. This solution successfully battled the effects of potato blight, allowing the crops to be harvested in full. Despite the copper sulphate, the potato yields did not return to the height they had been at before the famine. This is presumably from the decreased population working in the fields as well as less land dedicated to the growth of potatoes. (Grada 63) This decrease in population may be from the famine itself, or it may be due to World War I, or it may also be due to the change in economies from an agricultural nation to more of an industrial nation. These different possibilities make it difficult to determine the long term effects of the famine. It is believed by some that the famine caused the following generation of Irishmen to be smaller in stature and not as intelligent as the average Irishman before the famine. (Komlos 19) This assumption is based off of the idea that malnutrition prevents full growth of a person, both mentally and physically. Two studies have been done on the birth weight of Irish babies to see if a noticeable decrease can be detected and linked to the famine. "Neither (study) provides any support for the hypothesis that the food crisis visited long term physical debilities on either the famine generation or that which succeeded it." (Komlos 24) This evidence is not enough to draw a final conclusion, though. There are several different types of studies that might reveal different results. (Komlos 24)
The Great Potato Famine did distinctively leave a mark in Irish history. It is often looked at as the dividing point between old Irish history and recent Irish history. Several things, such as a shift from tilling land to pasture land and a decrease in population are seen as benefits for the nation of Ireland. (Grada 58) The years following the famine are considered years of prosperity. No overwhelming poverty or overpopulation was seen by experts who came to Ireland to witness the after effects of the famine. The decrease in poverty was due to the fact that most of the poor had died or left the country.
The suffering of millions, and the death of one million was viewed as worthwhile by the Irish government after the tragedy. The benefits reaped were good for Ireland, in light of the struggles before the famine. (Grada 58) This does not change the harshness of the times, and it does not make the starvation of millions something to be deemed worthwhile. This famine was a tragedy brought about by several factors, including overpopulation of Ireland and the potato blight. The famine cured the overpopulation, and it decreased the level of Irish poverty greatly. These "benefits," though, do not outweigh the cost of one million human lives.
Ireland is a country that has had a very difficult history. It's people have suffered many things. One of the worst of these things was the potato famine. Though the results have been ruled as beneficial, the famine was a great time of sorrow and pain for Ireland. Often trials benefit those who survive them. Ireland may well have benefited from the famine. The country grew in it's agricultural ways and the overpopulation and poverty problems were solved. One millions lives, though, makes it difficult to say that this was a worthwhile struggle for Ireland.
Works Cited
Adams, W. F. Ireland and Irish Emigration to the New World from 1815 to the Famine. Yale University Press, New York, 1932.
Grada, Cormac O. The Great Irish Famine. Cambridge University Press, New York, New York, 1989.
Kinealy, Christine. This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine 1845-52. Gill and Macmillian Ltd., Ireland, 1994.
Komlos, John. The Biological Standard of Living on Three Continents: Further Explorations in
Anthropometric History. Westview Press, Boulder, CO., 1995.