Free Economics Dissertations - Examining The Impact Of 'de-industrialisation' On Ireland’s Vulnerability To
Examining the impact of 'de-industrialisation' on Ireland’s vulnerability to famine in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Introduction
Poverty and destitution were widespread in Ireland during the first half of the 19th century. The majority of the population barely existed above subsistence levels that were depended on potato crops. In the absence of a proper law system, the country was largely divided into the poor and the landlords. Farming was the dominant occupation whereby the farmers sublet land to relatives and other farmers at a cheaper rent to compensate for the poor crop harvest. Due to lack of participation from the landowners in providing facilities for the farmers, and the disinterest in reinvestment in industrial projects resulted in poor living standards, low per capita income, starvation and hostility. Economists blame the deteriorated condition prevail ant in Ireland to deindustrialization and the lack of proper land laws, responsible for long term economic impact on the country as a whole. In the following sections the researcher shall investigate the degree to which this claim is true and show deindustrialisation has had a great impact on the famine stricken country during the first half of the 19th century.
Analysis
Pre-famine
Ireland in the first half of the 19th century saw rapid population boom surpassing the rate of food production. By 1845 the country's population had increased from approximately 5 million in 1780 to 8 million in 1841. The hub of the settlements was in Ulster, Munster, Belfast and Dublin. Even at the time economists predicted the rapid rise in population was much faster than food produced for them. Despite a substantial number of Irish working class colonized in London, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow the population in the country remained high. Irish peasants lived in cabin shelters and grew potatoes as a staple diet as well as to obtain meagre income from traders. The estates were not actually managed as the landowners were not concerned with the condition of the estate but how much the farmers were paying as rent. Due to the competitive demand for fertile land, rent increased significantly becoming out of the reach of the poor thereby given rise to subletting. Thus as authors Dudley and Williams (1957) sum up the condition of Irish rural system:
"If one looks at the Irish agricultural system as a whole, it is clear that it was bound to produce muddles, misunderstandings, harsh dealings and savage reprisals."
Concurrently, a large number of the population migrated to Britain, the United States, Canada and Australia in search of new bounties and living standards. Though the majority were miserable, occupied single rooms and considered the poorest class in the countries they emigrated to, nevertheless the conditions were better than back home. As a result millions of emigrated and by the second half of the century the population at home dwindled significantly.
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