The conditions of the poor during the second half of the nineteenth century .
The people of Ireland literally starved to .
death. While the government turned a deaf ear to their cries. The staple food in .
Ireland; the potato crop failed. Leaving the people without a means to feed .
their families and pay their rents. The situation was made worse by the British .
government. .
The government did very little to ease the pain of the Irish people. The .
British were so concerned with people becoming dependent on the government .
for their needs. That they overlooked the fact the people were really in need of .
serious assistance. When the crisis began the government levied taxes. That way .
the Irish could pay for their own relief work. The plan did not work because the .
people could not pay their rents. And due to the increased taxes, landlords .
evicted their tenants in order to avoid payment.
Little was done to help the Irish people because of the mutual distrust .
between the Irish and the English. The Irish resented English domination and .
rebelled against their rule. Causing the English to discontinue aiding the Irish .
people. In the meantime, the Irish people abandoned their homes and migrated to .
England, Canada, and America.
The situation continued to grow worse, as disease spread throughout the .
hunger stricken Irealand. Aid came from private relief organizations, but they .
were eventually overwhelmed by the enormous need. During this period the .
population decreased from 8.1 to 6.5 million. The number of deaths from famine .
and disease is estimated at around one million.
.
The living conditions of the poor was entirely inhuman. They suffered .
needlessly because the government did not want to help the people. On the basis, .
that the people of this country were of a different culture than their own. There .
reasons were totally unjustified and because of their ignorance an estimated one .
