Within the British empire, there was many different colonies that underwent horrible things. One of places that the British had set up a colony was Ireland. Ireland was arguably one of the first colonies, having had a strong British presence for over 800 years. With many of the British colonies, they imposed their will and believed that they were superior to the Irish natives. They did this by taking their land and forcing them to convert to a different religion. When the colonies that they had needed help, they were usually did not do much if anything to help them out. Even though Ireland is still in Europe, they still thought they were better than them and caused much distrust with them.
Background
One of the most important events that happened to Ireland was the Great famine. The great famine was a period of mass starvation that happened from 1845-1849. It was caused by potato blight, which is a fungus that caused the potato crop to become rotten and uneatable. Much of the native Irish at the time relied heavily on the potato as they did not have much land at the time, and you could grow a lot of potatoes in a small area.
Although the British were not to blame for the famine, they certainly did no help. At the time, they were the world’s largest empire, and with that comes many different resources. They had many different colonies throughout the world that they could have exported from to bring in food to Ireland. Instead of doing this, they British in charge decided that they would export instead. Because of this, over 1 million people died and another 1 million emigrated to different countries, the United States being the most common out of them. “Britain is now branded as the only civilized nation which would permit her subjects to perish of famine, without making a national effort to supply them with food” (Butt, 11).
John Mitchel
One person that was extremely important during the famine was John Mitchel an Irish political activist. He was born on November 3rd, 1815 and died in 1875. During much of the famine he was jailed by the British, and afterwards escaped to New York. He is often revered as one of Ireland’s great nationalist for many of the works he did. Mitchel was always very critical of the British and said that they were not doing enough to help the people. With him being so critical of the British, he wrote many books and spoke out publicly against them. “In 1860 he published, The last Conquest of Ireland (Perhaps) in which he blamed the famine directly on British misrule in Ireland: ‘The almighty indeed sent the potato blight, but the English created the famine’” (Geoghagen). The British were not doing enough for the Irish and he made sure that the British knew it. From many if his speeches and books, he was arrested and put in jail. From this, he wrote one of Ireland’s most famous texts regarding Irish nationalism (Geoghagen). The Jail Journal recounts many accords of his life and interactions with different people. In this Mitchel denounced British imperial rule in Ireland for destroying an entire society and culture through centuries of tyranny and oppression (Geoghagen). The British had been in Ireland for hundreds of years and only oppressed them, not allowing the people to live as they wanted to.
With Ireland having thousands of people dying, Mitchel and many other Irish nationalists would expect more from Britain. This was not the case, as Ireland continued to export many products that were necessary for them to survive. In Mitchel’s journal he recalls one account of this, “the miserable natives perish of famine by thousands every year: the cotton is exported miles to be women in Manchester, and re-imported in the shape of such indecent printed rags as the poor devils are now able to buy” (Mitchel, 123). Many of the supplies that were produced in England could have been produced in Ireland, and if they would have, would have helped countless of people. By not helping the people of Ireland, they caused mass deaths for those on the island. In Mitchel’s book written in 1876, he writes, “It is enough to say that in this year 1846, not less than 300,00 perished either of mere hunger, or of typhus fever caused by hunger” (Mitchel, 117). Mitchel states that many of these deaths could have been avoided if the British would’ve sent food to help the Irish. Since nothing was done to help them, this ultimately caused the death of over 1 million people.
With being in jail for so many years, he finally escaped and made his way to New York in 1853, just after a few years after the famine had ended. While in the United States, he continued to express his hatred towards the British when he set up an Irish nationalist newspaper (Geoghagen).
British empire
The British empire was the biggest and most extensive empire in the world, but it did not always treat the colonies the way they should have been treated. Like with many people in the British empire at the time, John Mitchel was an influential person in speaking out against the things that the British were doing. Isaac Butt said it best in his book, “If there was an occasion upon which practical proof could be given of the value to every member of the state of that association of men into states, that permits the government to wield mighty powers for the common good-if there were a time when men in the remotest corners of Ireland might have been taught the lesson that they have a deep interest in the strength and greatness of the United Empire, this famine presented this occasion” (Butt, 11). The famine was a huge disappointment for Britain as they ultimately allowed over a million people who were under their control to die. Many, if not all of these deaths could have been avoided if the British would’ve helped.
Conclusion
With the Great famine, and help from many Irish nationalists, the Irish free state was founded in 1921. The British continuously imposed their will onto the Irish people during their hundreds of years of power. The famine was one of the most influential disasters to happen within the empire as it signified that the British truly only cared about themselves. This caused many people such as John Mitchel to stand up for Ireland and ultimately be imprisoned for it. The efforts of John Mitchel remain as some of the influential at the time, and will continue to remain in Ireland.
Works Cited
Geoghagen, Patrick. "Ireland and Empire, 1607-1969." Empire Online. 2007. Accessed April 26, 2018. http://www.empire.amdigital.co.uk/Essays/PatrickGeoghegan
Butt, Isaac. A Voice for Ireland the Famine in the Land: What Has Been Done and What Is to Been Done. Dublin: IDC, 1987.
Mitchel, John. The Last Conquest of Ireland (perhaps). Glasgow: Cameron and Ferguson, 1876.
Mitchel, John. "Jail Journal Or, Five Years in British Prisons." 1854. Accessed April 3, 2018. http://www.empire.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/SearchDetails/Jail Journal_#.
Pictures
http://www.clareisland.ie/the-great-famine-19th-century/
http://basquill.cat-sidh.net/famine.html
Like what Danielle and Cody have already stated, it was very interesting to hear in depth details of the potato famine and its relationship with the British Empire which is a connection I hadn't previoulsy learned about. I appreciated hearing about the life of John Mitchel because you don't often learn about the important but smaller figures in events like the potato famine. I wonder how the legacy of Mitchel and individuals like him are differs in the minds of the Irish and the British.
Similar to what Danielle has said before me, we all essentially know what the potato famine was about. But when one goes into such detail like you did, it makes the story much more real. I enjoyed that you also told the story of John Mitchel. Sometimes it can be easy to forget the little people which make larger history possible.
This was really interesting to learn about. I think most of us, or maybe just me, only knew the basic information and background about the potato famine in Ireland from other history classes throughout our educational careers. From what we have learned throughout the semester in this class, it's not a surprise on how Great Britain acted during this time. Again, Great Britain saw themselves as "superior" amongst their other colonies and separated themselves from the Irish. Great work!