this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2025
550 points (98.2% liked)
History Memes
3514 readers
17 users here now
THIS COMM HAS MOVED
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The land theft was fundamental to the famine.
Under the British rule, the Irish were not allowed to own land and had to rent it from a British landlord; more important still, the Irish were not allowed to rent more than a half-acre.
The only crop with a sufficient yield per acreage to feed yourself and have enough left over to pay rent off a half-acre of land, is the potato.
The potato blight hit the entirety of Europe, not just Ireland. Only Ireland suffered a famine. Because the British rule had reduced the options for the Irish to potatoes or starvation.
That's a pretty dire misunderstanding of the situation. The Irish were allowed to own land. The problem was that some 60%+ was in the hands of absentee British landlords, and another ~30% in the hands of Anglo-Irish magnates. Irish were absolutely allowed to rent more than a half-acre - a half-acre wouldn't feed a single person, much less pay rent besides. A fourth-acre was the limit for those seeking relief at the poorhouses.
I mean, other areas in Europe suffered famine conditions in the same period because of the potato failure - Ireland was just hardest hit.