A Critical Analysis of the Irish Potato Famine
...ish would invade their farmsteads and destroy their crops leaving them with no hope for recovery. The potato served very useful in this. People were able to cultivate this plant with out it being noticed because its main fruiting body, the tuber grows underground. The Irish grew highly dependent on this because it offered them a security that had not been there before. Another socio-cultural factor that highly contributed to the main break of the Irish Potato famine was the Irish religion. The Irish were mainly Catholic. The religion taught that the family was a blessing; Contraception was a sin. As a result of religion, in the years following the introduction of the potato in Ireland, around 1815, “There was intense population growth that caused increased pressure on land and peasants holdings being divided into smaller and smaller lots (Costigan, 1969). Land was divided into smaller portions from which a family could ideally support itself. By 1845, the population had doubled from 4 million to 8 million (www.geocities.com). The increase in population drove Irish peasants more dependent on their staple food. So when the late blight epidemic hit the country, many were left with no alternative method of providing an income for their large family. Not all repercussions of the famine can be attributed to the dependence, and promiscuity of the Irish people. Adam Smith argues that “bad seasons” cause “dearth,” but “the violence of well-intentioned governments” can convert “dearth into famine.” “With the landlords largely residing in England, there was no one to conduct systematic capital improvements (Thorton 2).” The inaction of the English government or their laissez-faire, “leave it” approach towards the famine in Ireland terrorized the nation. Some people grew dependent on the kindness of their landlords. Those with the money sufficient to pay for rent were left with no money for food. Some outstanding contributors of the Irish potato famine were the English protectionism, the Corn Laws and the Bank Act of 1844. English protectionism stems from the belief that foreign competition can be depleted if prices are maintained constantly high through seasons of both deprivation and plenty (www.mises.org). The only beneficiaries from the English protectionism went to English land owners. The Irish were struck rather more poignantly by the late blight as a result of the high prices they could not afford. Protectionism was intertwined within the ear of the Corn Laws. As the only exception to the English motto of laissez-faire, the laws contributed to the great hesitation to help Ireland. The Corn Laws would charge corn imported into Ireland a tariff, while crops exported would be consistent with the free trade of the market. It wasn’t until the laws were repealed that the English began to take actions to slightly aid the depleting Irish population. To further jeopardize the economy, “The Bank Act of 1844 precipitated a financial crisis created by a contraction of money as a more restrictive credit policy replaced a loose one.” It seemed as though the great plant destroyer had initiated a potato blight; the English had created the famine. Earlier mentioned, laissez-faire, was a prime contributor in the continued deterioration of Ireland during the late blight epidemic. “These policies were based on the principle of non-interference with market forces in economic matters. Although the potato crop failed, the country was still producing and exporting more than enough grain crops to feed the population. But that was a 'money crop' and not a 'food crop' and could not be interfered with (www.nde.state.ne.us).” When Great Britain saw the dismay that Ireland suffered during the famine, they were highly reluctant in giving any kind of aid, both in form of money or in form of food supply. They argued that money would be used to buy guns for revolt and that food would make them to reliant on them. Furthermore, the English exported all other goods that were bountiful and could have been helpful in aiding the starvation in Ireland. At the time of the famine, “Wheat, oats, beef, mutton, pork, and poultry were all in excellent supply but the Irish-English landlords shipped these to the European continent to soften the starving there and receive a very good profit in return ( Thornton 2).” Much of the blame of the Irish potato famine is attributed to the English and the implementation of the Coercion Act. In conjunction to it were the “Three F’s, fixity of tenure, fair rents and free sale (www.historylearningsite.co.uk).” the Coercion Act, kept Irish peasants down. They produced en...