Analyzing Social, Political and Economic Impacts on the Tragedy of Mortality during the Great Irish Famine

Abstract

Between 1845 to 1852, Ireland underwent a historical crisis known as the Great Irish Famine, afflicting the Irish population with disease and starvation, and leading to the death of roughly one million people. This paper seeks to discuss the causes and impacts of this detrimental event, whilst analyzing and comparing the various social, economic, and political debates surrounding the resulting death toll of the Irish Famine. The principal debates within this paper regard the failure of the potato crop due to blight, the British Whig governments adherence to laissez faire ideology, and the role of anti-Irish racial hatred. In explaining the influence and significance of these debates, historic subjects such as the public works projects, and terms such as “non-intervention,” “moralism,” and “divine providence” are detailed. By comparing these debates, this paper ultimately seeks to argue that racial hatred was most significant in causing mass death during the Great Irish Famine.