4 ms·
Taxes were not the main contributory factor. "Ireland continued to export large quantities of food, primarily to Great Britain, during the blight. In cases such
by bwilli123 6y ago
Taxes were not the main contributory factor.
"Ireland continued to export large quantities of food, primarily to Great Britain, during the blight. In cases such as livestock and butter, research suggests that exports may have actually increased during the Potato Famine.
In 1847 alone, records indicate that commodities such as peas, beans, rabbits, fish and honey continued to be exported from Ireland, even as the Great Hunger ravaged the countryside."
https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/irish-potato-famine https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/irish-potato-fami...
- marzell 6y agoThanks for the clarification. I was actually meaning that they were being "taxed" in terms of food sent to the rest of the UK and not in terms of money. Even with the article you linked, it's not clear to me if "exports" means they were forced/taxed into sending food, or if they were willingly exporting food for money in lieu of eating... Or something else
- bitdizzy 6y ago> they were willingly exporting food for money in lieu of eating... The "they" who decided to export were not the "they" who starved.
- Spooky23 6y agoMost Irish didn’t own property and were tenants. They didn’t “export” in lieu of eating, the English landlord exported the fruits of their labor and left them to starve. The English were very concerned about the Irish and their moral fiber, so they allowed them to persevere rather than get hooked to charity. Others couldn’t pay their rent and were evicted. Millions of Irish didn’t flee to the slums of NYC, etc for kicks.
- thefringthing 6y agoFor this reason the Great Famine is sometimes characterized as a genocide perpetrated by the British landlord class.
- CryptoPunk 6y agoIreland could not affordably import food, due to the Corn Laws.