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Ireland & The Union - A LEVEL HISTORY > THE IRISH FAMINE, 1843-51 > Flashcards

THE IRISH FAMINE, 1843-51 Flashcards

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1
Q

What was the immediate cause of the famine?

A

Fungal disease called blight

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2
Q

Monoculture

A

The practice of growing a single crop or plant in a field at any one time

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3
Q

How much of the population were dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods?

A

2/3

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4
Q

Who did absentee landlords employ?

A

Middlemen

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5
Q

Who were middlemen?

A

Were lent land from absentee landlords which they then took out fixed price long leases on great quantities of land and paid landowners an agreed regular rent

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6
Q

Why was the middlemen system convenient for absentee landlords?

A

They didn’t have to mange their estate and were provided a regular, long-term income.

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7
Q

How did middlemen make money?

A

By subdividing the land and renting it to other become, tenant farmers.

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8
Q

How did middlemen maximise their income?

A

Deliberately create small plots of land to foster a larger number of tenants paying him rent.

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9
Q

How did tenant farmers mirror middlemen?

A

Would often let sections of their plot to poorer farmers or cotters in return for a portion of their crop or their labour.

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10
Q

Cottier

A

Person who rented between 1 or 3 acres of land to grow potatoes for himself and his family, rent paid with their labour and leases were on a year by year basis

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11
Q

What did the continual subdivision of land and chain of ownership create?

A

Rent prices increased and forced Irish agriculture to remain on a small scale without growth.

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12
Q

What % of landholdings were under 5 acres?

A

45%

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13
Q

How many cottiers were there in the early 1840s?

A

300,000

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14
Q

Why were potatoes the crop of choice in Ireland?

A
  • Produced a high yield compared to grain
  • Balance of nutrients
  • Cheap price
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15
Q

What was the downside to potatoes?

A
  • Cannot be stored for long periods of time

- Irish people depended on regular supply

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16
Q

When did the famine begin

A

1845

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17
Q

What were the associating diseases with the famine?

A

Typus, relapsing fever, scurvy and xerophthalmia

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18
Q

How many people died in 1847?

A

250,000

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19
Q

Why was the famine most prevalent in rural areas?

A

Poor cotters for whom the potato was their only means of subsistence.

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20
Q

Who was most affected by the potato blight?

A

The very young and very old

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21
Q

What was the social impact on the cottier class due to famine?

A

High mortality rate amongst young children contributed greatly to the demise of the cottier class, removed one of Irelands biggest social groups and affected Ireland’s social structure.

22
Q

What was the potato average before 1845 and what was it in 1847?

A

2 million in 1845 to 250,000 in 1847

23
Q

What did the famine stimulate?

A

Emigration abroad

24
Q

Why did Ireland never regain its pre-famine population level?

A

Emigration

25
Q

Why was the Irish famine not a complete shock to the British Government?

A

Blight has already destroyed English crops in the summer of 1845.

26
Q

Why was the British having experienced the blight before good?

A

They has some idea to the extent if potential damage and they were quick to respond

27
Q

What was the British’s early response to the famine?

A

Formation of a scientific commission to investigate the disease

28
Q

What were the arguments for the British government were slow to react and could have done more?

A
  • People have different interpretations to events such as the emotive nature of the great hunger
  • Changing nature of Britain’s response
29
Q

Under the guidance of Robert Peel, the British government response to the spread of the blight was …

A

Sympathetic

30
Q

Why did the scientific commission fail?

A

They failed to discover that blight was a fungal disease rather than a disease of the potato itself, therefore remedies they prescribed were entirely ineffective

31
Q

What was Peel’s relief programme?

A

November 1845 he brought £100,000 worth of Indian corn and meal.

32
Q

Why was the Corn Relief programme a failure?

A
  • Unfamiliar to the Irish
  • Not understood and not properly prepared
  • Undercooked and caused diarrhoea
  • Lacked vitamins (scurvy)
33
Q

What was Peel’s relief commission for public works?

A

Provided food and employment

34
Q

How much people did Peel’s relief commission give work to?

A

140,000

35
Q

Why was selling food important rather than giving it away?

A

Help maintain market prices, not cause decline in prices which could antagonise farming community

36
Q

Peel was more concerned with…

A

the longer term situation rather than alleviating the immediate problem of food scarcity

37
Q

When did Peel repeal the corn laws?

A

1846

38
Q

Why did Peel repeal the corn law?

A

To give the Irish market in this commodity a better chance of growth

39
Q

Corn Laws

A

Placing tariffs on foreign corn, which protected English farmers by maintaining high prices for their own produce.

40
Q

What did Peel hope by repealing the Corn Laws?

A

Wider market in Britain for Irish corn which could help support the relief of the country and begin the restructuring of Irish agriculture - risk of angering English farmers

41
Q

In terms of relieving the famine what difference did the Corn Laws repeal make?

A

Little - Ireland had plenty of food just no money to buy it

42
Q

What was the political impact of Peel’s actions?

A

His government fell from power and gave way to a new administration - Lord John Russell.

43
Q

When did Peel’s government fall?

A

June 1846

44
Q

What was Lord John Russell a great advocate of?

A

The economic ideas of Adam Smith - free trade, laissez faire

45
Q

What did free trade and laissez faire promote?

A

Non-intervention by government as the best means by which to deal with economic difficulties

46
Q

Under LJR, what would happen in the event of a poor harvest?

A

Not buy more grain but leave supplying of food to private enterprises

47
Q

Who was central in the decision-making process under LJR?

A

Charles Wood and Charles Trevelyan

48
Q

Who was Reverend Thomas Malthus?

A
  • Popular theorist
  • Thought Ireland was vastly populated
  • Population should be thinned out to make best use of natural resources
49
Q

Under Whigs what did they think the problems in Ireland was the consequence of?

A

Poor management on the part of Irish officials and landowners

50
Q

Temporary Relief Destitute Persons Act - Jan 1847

A

Allowed for the creation of government-sponsored soup kitchens in Ireland

51
Q

Why was the soup kitchen enterprise acceptable from the perspective of the British government?

A

Offered support to Irish and cheap and minimised intervention

Ireland & The Union - A LEVEL HISTORY (5 decks)

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