Was Ireland Poor in the Years before the Great Famine - Essay Example

why is it generally assumed that Ireland was poor in the years before the Great Famine The Great Famine in Ireland has always fascinated historiansand students of history alike. For one, many scholars and academicians assumed that Ireland suffered from dire poverty even before the Great Famine ensued in the country. This assumption, of course, has a strong basis since studies done by historians about Ireland point to the facts that the country was indeed 'poor' even before the Great Famine broke out. Apart from political and socio-economic reasons, a close scrutiny of the of the country before the famine reveals that the burgeoning population and a plethora of problems in agricultural production constitute the major basis of the prevailing assumption that Ireland was poor even before the Great Famine occurred. Political life for the Irish before the famine had already been considered deplorable.1 According to Dudley Edwards, author of the book 'The Great Famine,' the Penal Law effected on the Irish population in the 18th century 'kept them poor' as more than half of the country's revenues were taken out of Ireland. The novelist Jonathan Swift commented that the Irish 'live[d] worse than English beggars.'2 Farmworkers and their families had to pay exorbitant rents and lived in filthy environment devoid of even a shoe or stocking to protect their feet. 3 This was brought about by the abolition of the Irish Parliament in Dublin and in turn, England administered the country4 whose population live in dire misery of 'poverty and insecurity.'5 Historians contend that reform of the social system could have been instituted during that period so as to advance political and economic security. It is clear therefore that the failure of the British government to introduce legislation, as for instance on, hindering emigration, land reform measures and agricultural improvement only showed the indifference of the British government on the plight of the Irish people. English reformists merely observed in dismay Ireland's doubling population before the advent of the famine. Harvests that were very productive and bountiful showed that people had enough to eat, yet employment opportunities were scarce. The Act of the Union caused Ireland's integration into the British economy as the England utilised Ireland as its 'dumping ground' for it surplus products. The hastening of industrialisation in Britain also resulted to the breakdown of certain industries which used to generate employment. Surveys at that period conducted by the English on the loves of the Irish people depicted a harsh reality of the Irish life. The survey revealed that around 75 percent of Irish laborers were out of regular employment and many begged on the the streets in order to live.6 Moreover, the dominance of the landed elite composed of the Anglo-Irish and the English families asserted their power and authority over their tenants. However, most of these landowners employed middlemen to manage their land for them. Appropriately called absentees, they showed no interest in the development of the land and agricultural areas they owned. The rental fees accrued from the the lands supported and kept the landed elites on their status. The rest of the population meanwhile, all 3 million of them, were left without regular employment.7 The struggle for tenant rights came later when the country trembles on the verge of the famine. Yet these were likewise not easily achieved. Many historians argued that the problem of poverty in Ireland in the 18th and 19th century was the outcome of land tenancy.8 However, Joel Mokyr proposes that neither the land tenure issue nor the issue of population could explain the economic and political failures Ireland had experienced. For Mokyr, violence and lawlessness constituted a major part of the Irish experience in the 19th century, including the period before the famine.9 Mokyr adds that the 'conflict and social unrest' which ensued during the aforesaid centuries could be held responsible for the economic turmoil and poverty Ireland had undergone. These factors, according to Mokyr, can be classified into two categories. The first of these 'culprits' of Irish poverty experience was the 'market failure' and the second one is the behaviour of individuals which thwart economic development. Poverty persisted because the populace chose to remain impoverished.10 The problem with this assertion is that, we can never deduce if the Irish in the 17th and 18th century refused development or chose to be impoverished instead. What is clear in this issue is that, the English has taken the freedom of the Irish to institute reform by themselves leaving them without much choice on how to improve their lives. The migration patterns of the Irish proved this view. Research done on emigration policy showed that the British government was unwilling to adopt schemes that could have hindered Irish emigrants from undergoing hardships and difficulties so that they would halt searching for a better life abroad. Moreover, the widespread economic view was the laissez-faire which assumed that it was not the government's responsibility to aid individuals in a society or to intervene with the free flow of goods in the market. Still, other historians observe differently and put forth divergent findings. O'Grada for instance, asserts that overpopulation could be blamed for the woes Ireland experienced before the Great Famine. Ireland's population stood at about one-third of UK's overall population yet income was very low. Travelers around Europe who came to visit the territory observed that poverty in Ireland was 'unequaled' in the whole of western Europe.11 Much of the landless populace suffered from lack of employment who merely acquired living through agriculture, 'bartering labour with [other] farmworkers' for the utilisation of a small area of potato plantation. O'Grada claims that this gives validity to the observations of the travellers who reported that even before the famine, the poverty-stricken Irish lacked basic necessities such as 'clothes and housing.' Nonetheless, O'Grada admits that recent research on the life of the Irish before the famine struck, shows that the poor were 'well-fed and provided with fuel.' The diet of the poor population basically consisted of 'potatoes and skim milk' with 'fish, oatmeal and cabbage' as supplements.12 Dietary findings illustrated that the daily requirements for calories and protein were sufficiently supplied and the well-beings of the Irish individuals were not at stake. Yet the Great Famine was just a consequence of the overpopulation which had threatened the country.13 Mokyr however contends that the threat of the population was not on its burgeoning but rather the threat of migration. Mokyr states that the Irish emigration, which totaled to about one million before the eve of the famine, stood as one of the most significant in European history as this particular outflow affected the economy and those who were left behind. This effect however was not as prominent as the factors which worsened the impending famine. Yet, the historian Cristine Kinealy found out that there existed enough food for the remaining Irish population which could have thwarted mass starvation. 14 Thus, it is apparent that the indifference of the British leaders who supervise Ireland failed to institute reforms needed to avoid the tragedy of the Great Famine. Hence, the idea which prevailed before the eve of the famine is that Ireland was poor and this poverty had not been brought by the famine alone but a series of incidences that contributed to an 'economic and agricultural failure in the country.' Mokyr argues that the evaluation of the country's economic performance before the famine showed that Ireland failed to consider its agricultural development as the system focused only one crop. The dependency on one single crop, Mokyr concludes resulted to a disaster that could have been averted if reforms were instituted in the first place, except that the farmers realized too late that they should not have had depended on a single crop. Yet, it is also interesting to note that Mokyr does not blame the prevailing poverty as the root cause of the famine. On the other hand, Mokyr argues that the famine was a consequence of 'bad luck' as it was the first time that the particular fungus struck the crops nor the famine was cause by overpopulation.15 This dependency on agriculture amidst technological innovation in other parts of the UK and the industrialisation in many parts of Europe led many to assert that the assumption about Ireland as a country beset by marked poverty has basis. Hence, it is not just a general assumption that Ireland suffered poverty before the Great Famine ensued. Historical data shows that poverty was rampant long before famine struck. The bleak picture of Ireland before mid-19th century is evident on the accounts of travellers from other nations, as well as on the surveys conducted during that time by the British administrators who controlled the island country. Clearly, Ireland had suffered from destitution as a result of the political system imposed by England, the socio-economic establishments of that period, the growing population and the problems in agriculture. WORKS CITED Ranelagh, John O'Beirne (1983). A Short History of Ireland. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England, Second edition, 1994. First printing. p.3 O hEithir, Breandan. A Pocket History of Ireland. The O'Brien Press: Dublin, Litton, Helen (1994). The Irish Famine: An Illustrated History Wolfhound Press Ltd., Dublin, Ireland. p.8 O Grada, Cormac (1989). Ireland before and After the Famine: explorations in economic history 1800-1925, Manchester. 2d edition. p.68 Kinealy, Christine (1995). This Great Calamity; The Irish Famine 1845-52, Roberts Rinehart, Boulder Colorado. p.160 Edwards, R. Dudley (1957). The Great Famine: Studies in Irish History, 1845-52 . New York, NY: New York University Press. Mokyr, Joel (1983). Why Ireland Starved: A Quantitative and Analytical History of the Irish Economy, 1800-1850. London, England: George Allen & Unwin. The History Place, (2000). The History Place: Irish Potato Famine. Retrieved April 24, 2007, from History Place Web site: http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/before.htm Read More