Michael B. (Ichabod) reviewed Rot: An Imperial History of the Irish Famine on + 159 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The Irish Potato Famine (1845-1851) devastated Ireland, resulting in over one million famine-related deaths and the emigration of over 1.5 million people to places like America, Britain, and Australia. Meanwhile, Britain, located just across the Irish Sea, prospered. Listening to my late uncles tell it, this was cold-hearted, premeditated murder.
The potato blight in Ireland was caused by the water mold "Phytophthora infestans," brought over from North America. The potato crop was essential to Ireland, both for sustenance and economic stability, and the blight had cataclysmic consequences. Absentee landlords found it profitable to evict people from land they could no longer afford to rent. "Unroofing houses" was a common practice, where cottage walls and roofs were torn down or burned in order to enforce the expulsion. Scores of people had to live on the side of the road or in makeshift lean-tos, begging or stealing to avoid starvation. For many, the only option left was to leave Ireland on overcrowded "coffin ships."
Padraic X. Scanlan's book, "Rot: An Imperial History of the Irish Famine," investigates the origins of the devastating Irish Famine. The disaster was not caused by a lack of food, as Ireland exported vast quantities of grain, meat, and dairy-- more than enough to feed its starving population. Moreover, these exports were sold at very low prices set by the British-- barely enough to cover rent for most. Combined with the potato blight, the British policy of laissez-faire--the idea that the economy should be left to self-regulate-- worsened the effects of the famine.
There were efforts to help, as this was a world-wide embarrassment. Soup kitchens and workhouses were established, yet the aid was conditional. The Whig Party insisted that relief be tied to labor requirements as the Irish would take the charity and never pivot to improving their situation.
There are so many quotations by British leaders showing an utter disdain for the Irish. Initially, many believed the Irish were exaggerating their poverty. "Britain was industrious, Ireland was lazy." An ugly belief was espoused over and over, that the famine was doing its job. The economist Thomas Robert Malthus said that nature, in such a crisis, would restore the balance between population and food supply through "famine... the last, the most dreadful resource of nature." "The Irish, he concluded, could not yet be taught; until they starved, they would not learn."
As the famine continued, and one policy after another did little to resolve the disorder and desolation, many in the government became nihilistic, arguing that it would be better to do nothing to slow the famine or palliate the suffering of the Irish poor--to "let the evil work itself out like a consuming fire." Ireland was not the only country to suffer from Britain's laissez-faire belief. India lost tens of millions of lives in repeated droughts and famines. Here again, authorities "...convinced themselves that overly heroic exertions against the natural laws of the economy were worse than no effort at all."
"Rot" shows that while the Irish Famine was not caused by the British, their mishandling of it was due to misplaced faith in the market and an age-old mistrust of the intelligence and character of the Irish. The suffering described was horrific and would not have been tolerated or addressed in the same manner in Britain.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The potato blight in Ireland was caused by the water mold "Phytophthora infestans," brought over from North America. The potato crop was essential to Ireland, both for sustenance and economic stability, and the blight had cataclysmic consequences. Absentee landlords found it profitable to evict people from land they could no longer afford to rent. "Unroofing houses" was a common practice, where cottage walls and roofs were torn down or burned in order to enforce the expulsion. Scores of people had to live on the side of the road or in makeshift lean-tos, begging or stealing to avoid starvation. For many, the only option left was to leave Ireland on overcrowded "coffin ships."
Padraic X. Scanlan's book, "Rot: An Imperial History of the Irish Famine," investigates the origins of the devastating Irish Famine. The disaster was not caused by a lack of food, as Ireland exported vast quantities of grain, meat, and dairy-- more than enough to feed its starving population. Moreover, these exports were sold at very low prices set by the British-- barely enough to cover rent for most. Combined with the potato blight, the British policy of laissez-faire--the idea that the economy should be left to self-regulate-- worsened the effects of the famine.
There were efforts to help, as this was a world-wide embarrassment. Soup kitchens and workhouses were established, yet the aid was conditional. The Whig Party insisted that relief be tied to labor requirements as the Irish would take the charity and never pivot to improving their situation.
There are so many quotations by British leaders showing an utter disdain for the Irish. Initially, many believed the Irish were exaggerating their poverty. "Britain was industrious, Ireland was lazy." An ugly belief was espoused over and over, that the famine was doing its job. The economist Thomas Robert Malthus said that nature, in such a crisis, would restore the balance between population and food supply through "famine... the last, the most dreadful resource of nature." "The Irish, he concluded, could not yet be taught; until they starved, they would not learn."
As the famine continued, and one policy after another did little to resolve the disorder and desolation, many in the government became nihilistic, arguing that it would be better to do nothing to slow the famine or palliate the suffering of the Irish poor--to "let the evil work itself out like a consuming fire." Ireland was not the only country to suffer from Britain's laissez-faire belief. India lost tens of millions of lives in repeated droughts and famines. Here again, authorities "...convinced themselves that overly heroic exertions against the natural laws of the economy were worse than no effort at all."
"Rot" shows that while the Irish Famine was not caused by the British, their mishandling of it was due to misplaced faith in the market and an age-old mistrust of the intelligence and character of the Irish. The suffering described was horrific and would not have been tolerated or addressed in the same manner in Britain.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
