Ireland’s population grew dramatically and doubled to over 8 million. Bountiful harvests meant that the population was generally well fed but there were still very few employment opportunities. The Act of Union in 1800 meant that Ireland’s economy had been absorbed by Britain and rapid industrialisation meant that Ireland’s linen and woollen industries collapsed. In an 1835 ‘Poor Enquiry’ survey, it was revealed that 75% of labourers in Ireland were without any regular work.
With the threat of starvation looming, Peel made a decision to repeal the long-standing Corn Laws. These laws had been enacted to artificially keep up the price of British grown grain by imposing heavy taxes and subsidies on imported grain. Before the repeal, large amounts of cheap, foreign grain needed for Ireland would have been too expensive. English gentry and politicians however reacted with outrage at the prospect of losing their price protections. These arguments overshadowed the more important situation occurring in Ireland and the consequences of crop failure.
The shaky relief effort soon came under control of a 38-year-old English civil servant named Charles Edward Trevelyan. He was appointed to oversee the relief effort in Ireland. He was stubborn, self-righteous and made sure all communications were handed directly to him, meaning important decisions became more and more delayed as his work mounted up. During the entire period of the famine, Trevelyan would visit Ireland once, venturing no further than Dublin, far away from the hard-hit west of the country.
In spring of 1846, the British tried to implement a large-scale public works program for the unemployed. In the meantime, Peel had come up with his own ideas to solve the food problem. He secretly purchased maize directly from America to be distributed to the Irish. However the maize needed to be grounded into digestible corn meal and there were not enough mills in a potato farming nation. The mills that did process it sold it at one penny a pound but soon peasants ran out of money and landowners did not contribute to the relief effort. Also the corn lacked vitamin C provided by potatoes and caused health problems such as scurvy.
By June 1846, supplies of the corn meal were exhausted. It was estimated that 4 million Irish would need to be fed during the spring and summer of 1846, since nearly £3million worth of potatoes had been lost in the first year of the famine. Peel though had only imported only around £100,000 worth of corn meal from America and no effort was made to replenish the supply.
After Peel’s resignation in June of 1846, Trevelyan took full control of the famine policy under the new Liberal government who were firm believers in the laissez-faire attitude. Because of this, he immediately stopped all corn imports and closed food depots in Ireland which had been selling the corn. He said he wanted to prevent the Irish from becoming “habitually dependent” on the British government. For the rest of 1846, the government would do nothing to help stop the famine and help the Irish people.
By September, starvation struck in the west and southwest where people had been entirely dependent on the potato. Food supplies all year were tight throughout Europe, severely reducing imports into England and Ireland. Meanwhile, home grown oats and grain departed from the Irish shores for shipment to England, later causing food riots in other ports. The Irish in the countryside began to live off of wild blackberries, nettles, turnips and even green grass. Everything was pawned or sold in order to pay for rent and bought whatever they could with the little leftover money.
In the winter of 1846, thousands of desperate Irish sought work on public works projects. By later December, nearly 500,000 men, women and children were building stone roads. The men were unable to earn enough money to feed themselves let alone their families while food prices continued to climb. In some cases, children went unfed so that parents could stay working to keep earning money.
The public works plan had failed. In Cork Harbour, private shipments of Indian corn and other supplies began arriving and food prices dropped. The irish were still penniless though and could not afford to eat. The Soup Kitchen Act of 1847 meant food could be provided through taxes collected by local relief committees from Irish landowners and merchants. However, little money was forthcoming as landlords struggled with debt and non paying tenants and merchants went bankrupt and joined the beggars on the street. The demand exceeded the supply available and in some places, one kitchen would need to feed thousands of people.
By the summer of 1847, 3 million Irish people were being kept alive by the soup rations they were receiving. By the autumn, the third potato harvest of the famine had brought in a blight free crop, but not enough potatoes had been planted in the spring to make a significant harvest which many could live off. Landlords were now desperate for income and had to get rid of paupers who were on their land and not paying rent for, in some cases, years. To save their estates from ruin, the tenants had to go.
The famine had lasted for six years, since 1845. the famine had killed over one million people and its effects had forced another million to migrate to other countries. Its effect will be felt for years to come and many people have lost what they cannot replace. The British government has to shoulder the blame for this mess, especially, Trevelyan, whose decisions led to the starvation of thousands of people who could have otherwise been saved.