Irish famine

The Irish Famine a) What is the Irish Famine? b) i What were the main consequences of the Famine    ii  Explain why it is part of toays Irish National Memory both in Ireland and abroad c) Discuss the issue of British responsibility in the Irish Famine.

a) The Irish famine called also The Great Famine or the Irish Potatoes Famine is a grave famine between 1845 and 1848 in Ireland. This famine was caused by the \"Mildiou\" a mushroom which stops the culture of potatoes, first food ate by the Irish farmers. In fact, the potatoes become inedible because of this parasites. Moreover, the Great Famine is the result between the economy and the politic in Britain with the no appropriate method of agriculture. However, the Irish harbours stays opened because of the oppression of the protestant and the Irish continue to export foods.

b)

i-The decrease of the Irish population is one of the main consequence of the famine. It caused a lot of death of people because of the lake of food and the diseases. Totally, the Irish population has decreased from 8 million to 6 million of person during the Great Famine. The Poor Laws instored during the famine made the owner responsible of the need of their farmer. So, the British evicted the farmer if they cannot pay the tax of the land and they paid their travel for America. In fact, the British want to have more land and to fight in favour of the Irish cause. Moreover, the emigration is an other consequence of the famine: the Irish saw throughout America an answer to escape the Famine, they want to live the American Dream. The emigration continue until 1911 thanks to the famine. The Irish population dropped until 4,4 million of people that is the number of people in 1800. Politically, the extend of the famine during the winter 1845-1846 contributes to persuade the government to not fight the free exchanges and in June 1846, they revoked the law of the wheat.

ii- The Great Famine is a part of the Irish National Memory because the economic and social’s influence of the famine were considerable; many of the most persistent trends in modern Irish life emerge with the famine, while the years of distress also saw the end of a phase in the agitation for national self-government. Moreover, the Great Famine is seen as a period of misery. It is also seen as the source of many suffering and the symbol of the exploitation of a whole nation by its oppressors. Thanks to the Irish National Memory, we can remember the number of victims, their way of life and the impact on the society.

c) Between 1845-1848, The Great Famine was a hard period of the Irish history. There were between 500 000 and 1 million of death because of the devastation of the Irish culture. It marked the XIXème siècle because of its important loss which favoured the emigration to the new continent: America. With the human circumstance, the Great Famine has also seen the emergence of a brutal conflict: a politic conflict which the issues were considerable. What were the role and issues of the British responsibility during this period? In one hand, we will see that thousand of Irish died or flee to the United States and in an other hand, we will see the benefit of the British and how the Irish-American are organized.

      The famine provoked a lot of human loss forcing them to use their force which paralysed their capacity to fight against this crises. The British tent to profit of this situation by evicting their farmer who can pay the tax on the land. A lot of Irish family were evicted of their house and don't manage to survive, with the Ballinglass Incident for example. Face to this misery, the Irish think that America is a solution to escape to the famine. Because of the increasing of the mortality created by the famine,  thousand of Irish left their land to go to America even if some will died during the travel because of diseases and storms. For them, the United States offer a real dream : the \"American Dream\" which opens new perspectives in economy as for the fight for Ireland. They saw in the United States the complete liberty without British's domination. The humans loss were estimated between 500 000 and 1 millions of death and the refugees were estimated to 2 millions and the migrant to also 2 millions. It was the consequence of a natural catastrophe with thousand of years of the domination of the British politic in Ireland.       It is important to precise that the British exploited the Great Famine in order to evict the poor and have more land. Their behaviour shocked the Irish like the Irish-American who see in the United States a way to fight far from the Ireland. The migrant sent some aid to the freedom fighter stayed in the country and created the Fenian movement organization which consisted to make violent operation against the British government in order to have the independence of Ireland. The migrant influence on the American government to help them to stop the British behaviour. Some returned in Ireland some years after, in 1867, because they want to participate to the fight for the independence lead by the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the Fenian movement. However in august 1848, the British government organized some popular lunch  for more than 2 millions of victims of the famine even there was a lot of death.

To conclude, we have seen that the Great Famine spent four years  but its consequences spread to more than a decade and the human loss estimated between 500 000 and 1 millions. The economic and social’s influence of the famine were considerable. The Great Famine generates a renewal of the Irish nationalism translated by the Irish young movement’s birth. The Fields of Athenry is an Irish song taking the theme of the Great Famine.