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The man in charge of the British response to the great hunger was Charles Trevelyan. He famously said of the Irish "[The Famine] is a punishment from God for an
by beezlewax 2y ago
The man in charge of the British response to the great hunger was Charles Trevelyan. He famously said of the Irish "[The Famine] is a punishment from God for an idle, ungrateful, and rebellious country; an indolent and un-self-reliant people. The Irish are suffering from an affliction of God's providence."
The British actively exported grains meats and other food leaving the local population to starve.
It was a famine only because they made it one.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- favorited 2y agoHe also famously suggested that the Irish should simply grow corn, if there was a potato blight. As if, in the middle of a famine, farmers can simply pivot to another crop that they've never grown before.
- hinkley 2y agoI don’t think Ireland grows corn today. The wiki page for Irish agriculture doesn’t even mention it, which I interpret as “not enough grown to be noteworthy”.
- biorach 2y agoWe grow maize, which is what we call corn, here. In significant quantities, using modern agricultural methods. Even with that the climate is not totally suitable and it is mostly used for animal feed. I very much doubt it would have been possible to grow sustainable amounts of maize up until recent decades
- hinkley 2y agoAnd unless something changes with corn strains and agriculture, possibly not again in another four or five. It's a very thirsty boy. Both in water and nitrogen.
- DrillShopper 2y agoIt wasn't a famine - it was a genocide