irish famine

irish famine

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• irish
• famine
• hard
• times
• no
• more

[50334]

That an island which is said to be an integral part of the richest empire on the globe ... should in five years lose two and a half million of its people (more than one fourth) by hunger, and fever the consequence of hunger, and emigrate to escape from hunger.n 1845, 24% of all Irish tenant farms were of 0.4 to 2 hectares one to five acres in size, while 40% were of two to six hectares five to fifteen acres. Holdings were so small that only potatoes no other crop would suffice to feed a family.

[50334]

and which led to the death of approximately one million people through starvation and disease although it is believed that up to 2 million perished between 1845 to 1849,plus approx 1 million emigrated.

[50334]

the facts of this famine are as follows:The proximate cause of the famine was a potato disease commonly known as late blight. Although blight ravaged potato crops throughout Europe during the 1840s, the impact and human cost in Ireland — where a third of the population was entirely dependent on the potato for food — was exacerbated by a host of political, social and economic factors which remain the subject of historical debate!!

[bacabu30]

great video

[50334]

thanks BACABU30

[IrishNewYorkerr]

it really upsets me that we are not taught about the Irish Famine in American schools. Especially since it highly impacted American history.

[50334]

u should look up the history of the irish famine and what the british did to us at that time.

[therresak41]

I grew up the seventh of nine Irish catholic and I was never taught any of it either. It really hits home when you get older, for me in my forties and you see the history of your blood, your people. The ones who should truly be ashamed are the English, but they're all dead now aren't they, too bad their arrogance and indifferance are not dead too.

[Marguerite21]

Well, I have to say that the Irish had been victimized by the English for long centeries. No one from the outside of Ireland never knew about their living hell. Only the English knew, but let millions die from starvation. My God! Can anyone ever imagine how fucked up and cold hearted the English were? No! Obviously not! Many English are still cold hearted and Anti-Irish!

[geofflovett]

Yeah the English have alot to answer for.

Nothing has been mentioned of 5yr olds,working under looms,losing fingers daily,or down the pits working alongside their pregnant mother,Or hitting the clog on a molten steel crucible only to be covered in molten metal,ah then theres the poor bastards who were sent up chimneys,or down sewers to unblock the smaller pipes,But this doesn't matter eh,they were all from Sheffield.

[seonidh]

Well said kitty, did you also know that at the same time as the Irish famine there was one in the Highlands of Scotland too and when some grain came the overseers made the Scottish Gaels build destitution roads to nowhere to justify the little food they sent. The famine resulted in 2.000.000 Scots emigrating as well mostly to Canada and Australia. Because its still a part of the UK Scottish schools are forced to leave that bit out as well.

[KittyStarlight]

To BRIGSTOCK (3 weeks ago):

I don't know why on earth somebody gave you

a "thumbs down" when you were just *being

historically accurate*. (You're right, it

was *primarily* about English AND Irish

indifference toward "the poor". I *do* think

that typical English attitudes toward "the

Irish" were also a factor. But calling it

deliberate genocide would be, I believe,

a little extreme.)

[chris302uk]

Thanks Kitty

All the americans I've met have been lovely people; and as they've said after your elections you've got a great capacity to reinvent yourselves, there's not many countries that can do that, we don't over here

[KittyStarlight]

However, many, many, *many* New Yorkers *are*

at least *part* Irish (they *might* even still

be "the majority" today, *if* all the part-Irish

people count! ^_~). (But you'd probably have

to include all the Irish-Italians, Irish-Germans,

Irish-Scandinavians, etc., etc., etc. ^_~)

=^__^=

[KittyStarlight]

TO DeCkY2oo7AdW again, about the "majority" thing: I don't know the actual percentages, but just say for example that 30 to 40% of people living in a certain place were Irish and another 30 to 40% were Jewish...both groups *could* then be considered majority groups rather than minority groups, BUT *neither* group would actually be THE majority of all the people. I THINK that in NYC today there *is no* one majority group any more, due to so many, many people being of various mixes.

[KittyStarlight]

To chris302uk: Thanks. ^_^ You too. ^_^ (I'm always glad to discover yet another English person who does NOT think that all Americans are brats, losers, etc. [I realize that going by *some* of us it's kind of hard to tell, though!!! ^_~]. I know [online] several nice English people who like most Americans most of the time. [Most of us are reasonably tolerable people once you get to know us. ^_~ The bad apples didn't *really* spoil the whole batch (yet)! ^_~]) =^__^=

[chris302uk]

No worries, Kitty. Agree with all you've said, Take care of yourself.

[BRIGSTOCK]

You mustn't take it out of its historical context. It was a time of extreme poverty. Thomas Hardy once wrote about a little boy near him in Dorset (50 miles from London) in the 1850s who literally starved to death. Poverty was simply accepted as normal. The feeble response to the famine is an example of the indifference of the rich, landowning English AND Irish towards 'the poor' rather English cruelty towards 'the Irish'.

In the 1840s social class meant more than nationality.

[BRIGSTOCK]

You also have to remember that people in 1845 simply didn't think the way we do. It was a time in which slavery was still practised in the USA and public hanging was a good day out in Britain. Poverty was equated with moral corruption. It was a different psychology/ sensibility. It is very unfair to accuse the British of genocide. Incompetence, negligence, lack of attention/ interest etc etc... yes, but no fair historian could accuse the British of genocide.