Station 1 Documents The cause (of the famine) was the flawed character of the Irish.

[Growing potatoes encourages] habits of indolence (laziness), improvidence (carelessness), and waste. The Plough, A Journal of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (London, 1846).

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Historical Context: The British were overwhelmingly protestant, while the majority of Irish were Catholic

Charitable groups and individuals established soup kitchensa small number were evangelical Protestant zealots. They gave soup, money, and clothing only to Catholics who gave up their faith and converted to Protestantism. Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Potato Famine, 1845-1850

Station 2 Documents Historical Context: The British government followed a policy of laissez faire capitalism. Free trade [demands] that no government surplus foodbe given to the starving, in order to leave the market for food undisturbed. British Prime Minister Lord John Russell

The circumstances which appeared most aggravating was that the people were starving in the midst of plenty, and [ships] carried from the Irish ports corn sufficient [to feed] thousands of the Irish people. William Smith-OBrien, a wealthy land owner who was sympathetic to the plight of the Irish

Station 3 Documents: Historical Context: Absentee landlords realized that they could earn more money by using their property as pasture land, than they would renting it to tenant farmers

Eviction: removing tenant from property

What the devil do we care about you or your black potatoes? It was not us that made them black. You will get two days to pay the rent, and if you dont you know the consequences. Landlord quoted in the Freemans Journal, April 1846

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Station 4 Documents Historical Context: in 1798, Thomas Malthus published An Essay on the Principal of Population, which argued that population growth, if not controlled, would lead to starvation. Disease, war, disaster and famine were all necessary to control population growth. The cause (of the potato famine) was economic and natural law. Famine seems to be the last, the most dreadful resource of nature. The power of population (to grow) is so superior to the power of the earth to produce subsistence (enough food) for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race. Thomas Malthus, Essay on the Principle of Population (1798).

Station 5 Documents:

Historical Context: Workhouses, which were built to house the poor, were built to hold 100,000 people, but during the famine, millions were starving. The British government imported Indian meal (maize) from the US and sold it to the poor at a cheap price, but it was still too expensive for most. The government also started building projects to provide jobs. Workers were paid at the end of the week and many men died of starvation before their wages arrived. Soup kitchens were set up, but supplies werent enough to meet demand.

The only way to prevent the people from becomingdependent on Government [assistance] is to bring the food depots to a close (end famine relief). Charles Trevelyn, Secretary of the Treasury

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Caption: Starving peasants at the gates of a workhouse