The Great Hunger: Ireland: 1845-1849 Paperback – September 1, 1992

This book is a comprehensive account of the Famine, as well as its causes and effects. To understand the Famine, one must go back at least to the Penal Laws. The Penal Laws were in effect from 1695 (some sections were not repealed until 1829), enacted by the English in revenge for Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which William of Orange won over the Catholic James II. Some of the provisions included barring Catholics from purchasing land, requiring that Catholic-owned land be divided among all sons upon the death of the landowner (thus breaking up estates), prohibiting observance of the Catholic faith, and prohibiting Catholics from attending schools, operating their own schools, or sending their children out of the country for education. Land tenancy was at will (even those with leases had no rights if the rent was in arrears, which it often was) and any improvement a tenant made to his land became the landlord's property without compensation to the tenant when the lease terminated. Edmund Burke recognized the Penal Code as "a machine as well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment and degradation of a people, and the debasement in them of human nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man."From 1779 to 1841, the Irish population increased by 172% (other sources say the population doubled over this time), due in large part to the potato, which could be cultivated with high yields on very small allotments of poor soil in a cool, soggy climate. The Irish peasant survived on potatoes and buttermilk which, as peasant diets go, was pretty healthy. Thus, family formation began young with relatively low rates of infant mortality, fueling unsustainable population growth on the precarious base of one plant, the potato. Other cash crops were grown, but used to pay the rent, at a time when eviction meant slow starvation. Life was precarious, even with the potato: about 2.5M Irish starved for a part of each year before the potato crop could be harvested, and half of the rural Irish lived in one-room mud hovels. Infrastructure was primitive, medical resources scarce, and western Ireland operated on essentially a barter economy. The British government did little to improve harbors in the west of Ireland or to encourage agricultural reform away from the potato monoculture or reform land ownership, all recognized as dangerous even before 1845.So when the potato blight swept through Ireland first in 1845, with a total potato crop failure in 1846 (all of Europe suffered a serious failure of crops that year, compounded by a brutal winter), and a second total failure of the potato crop in 1848, famine and disease followed on an unimaginable scale.Britain at first took significant steps, although its effort was parsimonious given the scale of the emergency. Robert Peel pushed through repeal of the Corn Laws (tariffs on foreign grain which raised prices to protect English farmers), although his government fell as a consequence. Indian corn meal and soup were provided. Fever hospitals were built or enlarged.However, as the Famine dragged on, the British officials seemed more and more wedded to the idea that unfettered laissez-faire capitalism would solve the problem and more inclined to blame the Irish themselves.Charles Trevelyan, head of Treasury and the one man most responsible for Britain's response to the Famine, not to mention one of history's great villains, was a rigid official, son of a clergyman, and much more concerned with spending as little as possible on famine relief than on the suffering of the Irish. He had a fanatic's devotion to a belief (in this case, unfettered capitalism) to which he held fast in spite of the corpses piling up. Randall Routh, head of the Relief Commission for Ireland, protested to Trevelyan that 'a cry of want could not be answered with a quote from political economy," although that's exactly what Trevelyan persisted in doing, despite knowing the horrific numbers of deaths from starvation and disease (responsible for ten times the deaths of starvation). Trevelyan was also convinced that the Irish were somehow squirreling away resources that they could put to famine relief, in spite of the evidence that the Irish were impoverished as the Famine dragged on year after year, to the point where many had sold their clothing and bedding and were left in rags. Irish property was taxed heavily in the unfounded, ridiculous belief that it could pay for its own Famine relief., and when landlords were made responsible for their destitute tenants' unpaid taxes (the tenants couldn't pay their rents, either), it was a predictable result that starving tenants were then evicted and their houses destroyed. It was a horrible idea to put in charge of Irish famine relief (and later knight) a man with Trevelyan's prejudices and hostility to the Irish, a man who wrote:The Famine "is a punishment from God for an idle, ungrateful, and rebellious country; an indolent and un-self-reliant people. The Irish are suffering from an affliction of God’s providence.""The real evil with which we have to contend is not the physical evil of the Famine, but the moral evil of the selfish, perverse and turbulent character of the [Irish] people."Eventually, many Irish emigrated. Some teenagers committed crimes punishable by transportation, seen as preferable to starving to death in Ireland. Not all immigrant ships were "coffin ships," but many did not carry enough fresh water or food, and they sailed without doctors. Crammed together, fever spread among the immigrants, and many died at sea or soon after disembarking. (Medical science at the time did not know that typhus and relapsing fever were transmitted by lice.) In the first five months of 1847, 300,000 Irish immigrants swamped Liverpool, with a population of 250,000. That same year, over 37,000 Irish arrived in Boston, with a population of 115,000, and 53,000 Irish arrived in New York. Many of these people were sick with fever (or would soon develop fever). At Grosse Ile, Quebec, on May 31, 1847, there were 40 immigrant ships on the St. Lawrence waiting to unload their human cargo, with 1,100 fever patients already overwhelming the hospital facilities on Grosse Ile. (Unlike ports in the U.S., Canadian ports had to accept sick Irish refugees.)This book details many vivid accounts of the Irish during the Famine, as well as the stories of brave people who tried to help the victims and reverse the callous attitude of the British public (who generally, one suspects, agreed with Trevelyan). James Dombrain, Inspector General of the Coast Guard, was condemned as being "lavish" for releasing food to starving people. The Quakers come off well. Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, head of the British Relief Association, saved many lives. Lord Clarendon, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, fought for the Irish and tried to have the government fund alternative crops and teach the Irish how to cultivate them, an idea mockingly dismissed. The unfortunately named Edward Pine Coffin advocated for keeping Irish-grown grain to feed the Irish. Doctors and priests cared for Famine victims, even though many died from fever themselves.While Cecil Woodham-Smith was British (she refers in the book to the American Founding Fathers as "obstinate Anglo-Saxon dissenters"). she came from a distinguished Irish family. Even while acknowledging that the scale of the disaster (apparently even had all the grain grown in Ireland stayed there, it would not have fed the starving populace over the protracted Famine) and the primitive level of medical knowledge at the time would have resulted in a terrible toll when the potato failed, she condemns the later actions of the British, quoting Sydney Smith, "The moment the very name of Ireland is mentioned, the English seem to bid adieu to common feeling, common prudence, and common sense, and to act with the barbarity of tyrants and the fatuity of idiots."

I believe this book is out of print which is too bad. The writing is excellent, and the author does not avoid the harsh realities faced by the Irish during 1845-1847. She also discusses the impact of the Irish famine on the world at large. For example, she discusses the migration of Irish to Canada and the U.S. Very well worth a read particularly in light of the later Irish break from England.

Cecil Woodham-Smith's judicious account of the potato famine in Ireland contrasts sharply with the angry tone of Thomas Gallagher's Paddy's Lament. Nevertheless, the two books complement each other very well. Although Woodham-Smith does not neglect the suffering of the Irish people, the main focus of her book is on the British government's response to the famine. She shows how the British administration was constrained by a narrow laissez-faire ideology and an inadequate administrative structure in Ireland, especially in the remote western counties. Although she never oversimplifies, Woodham-Smith patiently compiles a devastating indictment of British policy in Ireland. The main strength of Gallagher's book is his vivid description of life during the famine. He occasionally drifts into fictional methods in order to make his story more personal and immediate. Woodham-Smith is the better historian, but Gallagher packs a larger emotional punch.

Incredible story of my ancestors during the great potato famine and what really went on.

I first bought this book at the Famine Museum years ago in Ireland - it is the best book I have ever read explaining in A+ academic style exactly how it came about that millions of Irish died during what most call "famine," when it was just potato blight - there was plenty of food to be had, but the irish poor weren't ALLOWED to have it. Truly the best explaination of all time, and is recommended read to anyone who wishes to know the real truth behind the political washing of these horrific years.It's not EASY to read but it is absolutely essential reading if you are Irish."

Horrific is an oft overused term today but it is the perfect word to describe this extraordinary account of the Irish famine. I guarantee that it was a much more complex set of circumstances responsible than is generally known.It explains a lot about the historic relationship of England and Ireland as well as the Irish impact on Canada and the United States.The last 100 pages or so begins to lose some of the fervor of the 1st 350 pages, but it is a compelling and a necessary read if you wish to understand anything about the Ireland of the past 200 years.

Un livre extrêmement intéressant et détaillé sur la question de la famine en Irlande ,mais aussi de l'organisation sociale et politique ayant conduit indirectement mais de façon prévisible à la catastrophe .

I wanted to know more f the great Famine and Cecil Woodham=Smith is recognised as one of the authorities. She has written a detailed and research-based history a history that is constantly revisited by general readers and historians.

I had read this book many years ago and felt brave enough to face reading it again. The author gives a very detailed account of the famine years yet the book is easy to read (the autor's style I mean - the content itself will break your heart). I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has even a passing interest in the history of Ireland. It is a harrowing read, especially as the book so clearly shows how the tragedy that was the Irish Famine was of so little importance to those who could - and should - have done much more to alleviate the suffering of the starving people.

Pour qui lit l'anglais et s'intéresse à l'histoire de l'Irlande, c'est un récit passionnant des événements tragiques qui ont humainement ruiné ce pays au milieu du 19è siècle. Pour ceux qui préparent l'agrégation, c'est un excellent moyen de passer en revue la chronologie des faits avant de se pencher sur l'analyse et l'historiographie.

a compelling read. I was sat reading getting angrier as time went on at the way we English had such total disregard towards the irish nation and treat them in such contempt - I know it happened nearly 200 years ago but the book is written so well that it stirs up disgust at what had happened.