The Irish Potato Famine

• Irish people were highly dependent on farming.
• Overpopulation forced people to survive on small plots of land.
• People were heavily reliant on potatoes as a food source.
• Most cottiers worked for land and had no monetary income.
• Potato blight, a fungus, devastated potato crops.
• Potatoes were inexpensive, easy to cultivate, and nutritious, making them a staple for poor families in Ireland.

The Famine Period

• 1845: Farmers first detected the blight.
• 1846: One-third of the potato crop was lost, causing the poor to begin to starve.
• 1847: Although there was virtually no blight, a lack of seeds resulted in continued starvation and death from disease.
• From 1848–1850, an additional 400,000 people died.
• Typhus and cholera outbreaks were rampant due to poor hygiene.
• Many people were evicted from their homes.
• "Coffin ships" earned their name due to the high mortality rate during voyages.
• The British government's non-interventionist "laissez-faire" policy hindered aid efforts.
• The British population had access to alternative food sources.
• In 1845, Sir Robert Peel sent enough maize to feed one million people.
• Workhouses provided food and shelter in exchange for labor.
• By 1847, workhouses accommodated 200,000 people.
• The Quakers organized soup kitchens across the country.
• Queen Victoria, the Ottoman Sultan, and Pope Pius IX contributed money.
• Initially, the British government offered some assistance but later ceased support due to their belief in laissez-faire economics.

Consequences of the Famine

• The population decreased, with over one million deaths.
• Farming practices underwent significant changes.
• Resentment towards the British grew.
• The Irish language experienced a decline.
• New emigration patterns emerged.
• Significant scattering of Irish migrants across the world, known as the "Irish Diaspora".
• Many Irish people migrated to the US, particularly New York.
• Most emigrated to the United States, Canada, Britain, and Australia.

Life in the 1800s

• By 1841, the population reached 8.2 million, up from 5.5 million in 1801.
• Dublin faced overcrowding, typhoid, cholera, smallpox, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, high infant mortality, and child labor issues.
• 70% of the population resided in the countryside in 1841.
• Large farmers cultivated 30+ acres.
• Small farmers cultivated 5–30 acres.
• Cottiers were poor individuals who rented 1 acre from a farmer.

1800s Politics

• The Act of Union dissolved the Irish Parliament.
• Ireland sent Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons.
• The Chief Secretary, an Irish politician, was the head of the Irish government.
• The British monarch was represented in Ireland by the Lord Lieutenant.
• The Act of Union in 1801 merged Ireland and Britain into the United Kingdom.

Catholic Emancipation

• Catholics aimed to gain the right to sit in Parliament.
• Catholics were required to pay tithes to the Church of Ireland.
• The use of peaceful political means to achieve political change is a Parliamentary tradition.
• Catholic Emancipation allowed Catholics to vote and hold seats in Parliament for the first time in over 100 years.

Daniel O’Connell

• Born in Kerry in 1775.
• He witnessed the "Terror" in France, which instilled in him a lifelong aversion to political violence.
• He supported the United Irishmen's goals in the 1798 rebellion.
• Fought for a Catholic board to campaign for Catholic emancipation.
• In 1829, O’Connell won a seat in Westminster but refused to swear an oath to the King, preventing him from taking his seat.
• The Duke of Wellington feared a rebellion if Catholic emancipation was not granted.
• In 1829, Catholic Emancipation was passed by Westminster, and Daniel O'Connell took his seat.
• O’Connell established the Repeal Association to abolish the Act of Union.
• O’Connell organized monster meetings to gather support for repeal.
• Daniel O’Connell died during a pilgrimage to Rome.
• Many supported Daniel O’Connell because he wanted peaceful change and gave Catholics a voice in politics.