|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Famine, Irish
Famine, Irish (1845–51). The famine originated with the recurrent failure of the potato crop, devastating the Irish cottier and small farmer classes: around 1 million died in Ireland as a result either of starvation or—more commonly—disease. The origin of this demographic cataclysm lay with a fungus, phytophtora infestans, which destroyed half the Irish potato crop of 1845, and brought a near total crop failure in 1846. A partial recovery in 1847 was offset by a greatly reduced area under cultivation, so that although there was a good yield per acre sown, the total harvest was poor. The potato crop failed almost totally in 1848.
The social and economic consequences of the famine are disputed. But it is clear that excess mortality effectively doubled for the five years (1846–50). Mortality levels rose from 1846, reaching a peak in 1847–8, though there were social and regional variations. In addition the birth rate fell critically during the famine years. Emigration, a feature of Irish society since the early 18th cent., greatly expanded: between 1845 and 1870 there were at least 3 million Irish emigrants. Ireland emerged from the famine denuded of its cottiers and dominated by the farmer interest. The political outfall from the famine offers few problems of interpretation. The Conservative administration of Sir Robert Peel initially tackled the blight with some success, importing Indian meal and establishing food depots. Peel's government fell in June 1846, to be replaced by a more doctrinaire Whig administration. The Whigs relied at first on an extensive scheme of public works, but this was abandoned in 1847, being replaced by soup-kitchens. The limited crop recovery in 1847 persuaded the government that the emergency had ended, and all special relief programmes were abolished. This apparent British complacency fired later 19th-cent. Irish nationalism. The Great Famine affected all aspects of Irish life and remains one of the most emotive issues in modern Irish historiography. The dominant—‘revisionist’—view of the famine, until recently, was that it accelerated existing trends in Irish society: this, in turn, has been challenged by those who, like Cormac O Grada, emphasize the uniqueness of the event, and place less stress on the continuities. Alvin Jackson |
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Famine, Irish." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Famine, Irish." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-FamineIrish.html JOHN CANNON. "Famine, Irish." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-FamineIrish.html |
|
Famine, Irish
Famine, Irish (1845–51). The famine originated with the recurrent failure of the potato crop: around 1 million died in Ireland as a result either of starvation or—more commonly—disease. The origin of this demographic cataclysm lay with a fungus, phytophtora infestans, which destroyed half the Irish potato crop of 1845, and brought a near total crop failure in 1846. A partial recovery in 1847 was offset by a greatly reduced area under cultivation, so that although there was a good yield per acre sown, the total harvest was poor. The potato crop failed almost totally in 1848.
The Conservative administration of Sir Robert Peel initially tackled the blight with some success, buying Indian meal and establishing food depots. Peel's government fell in June 1846, to be replaced by a more doctrinaire Whig administration. The Whigs relied at first on an extensive scheme of public works, but this was abandoned in 1847, being replaced by soup‐kitchens. The limited crop recovery in 1847 persuaded the government that the emergency had ended, and all special relief programmes were abolished. This apparent British complacency fired later 19th‐cent. Irish nationalism. |
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Famine, Irish." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Famine, Irish." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-FamineIrish.html JOHN CANNON. "Famine, Irish." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-FamineIrish.html |
|
Irish Famine
Irish Famine (1845–51) A period of famine and unrest in Ireland. In 1845 blight affected the potato in Ireland and the crop failed, thus depriving the Irish people of their staple food. ABSENTEE LANDLORDS failed to prevent exploitation of tenants by their agents; farmers could not pay their rents; often they were evicted and their cottages destroyed. This exacerbated the blight by further reducing harvests. Committees to organize relief works for such unemployed persons, together with soup kitchens, were set up, and, especially in the western counties, large numbers sought refuge in workhouses. Deaths from starvation were aggravated by an epidemic of typhus, from which some 350,000 died in the year 1846–47. The corn harvest in 1847 was good and, although the blight recurred, the worst of the famine was over. It is estimated that one million people died in Ireland of starvation in the five years 1846–51 and another million emigrated to the USA or elsewhere.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"Irish Famine." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Irish Famine." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-IrishFamine.html "Irish Famine." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-IrishFamine.html |
|
Irish famine
Irish famine. See Famine, Irish.
|
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Irish famine." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Irish famine." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Irishfamine.html JOHN CANNON. "Irish famine." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Irishfamine.html |
|
Irish Famine
Irish Famine See famine, irish.
|
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Irish Famine." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Irish Famine." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-IrishFamine.html JOHN CANNON. "Irish Famine." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-IrishFamine.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
