Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Britain—then the richest nation on earth, with an empire stretching around the
globe—could seemingly do nothing to help its starving citizens. A toxic combination of
laissez-faire economic policies, racial bigotry, and religious self-righteousness conspired
to blind the English to the plight of the Irish. While the British tend to blame the famine
on overpopulation among the undisciplined and backward Irish (Ireland's population had
doubled in the 45 years leading up to this period), some Irish say it wasn't actually a fam-
ine, per se—but rather a calculated attempt to take advantage of a natural disaster to starve
down the local population through lack of effective relief. For this reason, devout Irish Na-
tionalists do not refer to this period as “the famine” (implying a lack of food) but rather as
“An Gort Mór” (The Great Hunger...imposed by British colonial policies). Over the course
of five long years, Ireland was ruined. To this day, Irish weather reports include mention
of potential potato-blight conditions.
The island's population was suddenly cut by almost a third (from 8.4 million to 6 milli-
on). Many of their best and brightest had fled, and the island's economy—and spirit—took
generations to recover.The Irish language, spoken bythe majority ofthe population before
the famine, became a badge of ignorance and was considered useless to those hoping to
