It’s not though.

The British didn’t cause the famine, they “just” made it worse.

It’s a common misconception but there are a few issues with “didn’t cause the famine” for me:

1. Potato blight != famine. There was a potato blight across all of Europe at the time. Ireland still produced more than enough food to feed itself even in 1847, the worst year of the blight. It wasn’t a case of making it worse, they literally wouldn’t have gone hungry at all.
2. The only reason Irish peasants were so dependent on a single food crop to feed themselves was because it was what produced the most calories for a given area of land. The British stole the land from the Irish then forced payment at such a high rate from the people they stole it from that it left no choice but to use that single crop to feed themselves. They had to use their remaining non-potato land for higher value cash crops to pay rent on the land that was stolen from them.
3. An enormous number of people died from exposure after being fucked off their land and having their homes burned to the ground because they couldn’t afford to pay rent to those landlords.

So the British did cause the actual famine in it’s entirety and the deliberate lack of relief was seen as an act of God / retribution to reduce the population here (which they 100% left to starve, with some kind landlord exceptions).

It’s why the Irish don’t call it “The Famine” any more. It’s “the great hunger” here because there wouldn’t have been a famine at all if we’d just been left the fuck alone to grow a variety of crops instead of being raped and pillaged for hundreds of years.

That’s an absolutely fascinating insight. Thanks!

I’m curious what it is for other countries so off to do a little searching…

Update:

Right, it’s better but not wildly so when spread across the EU and lower in some places. This page is from the Irish Central Statistics office with 2023 numbers and puts us at 21% at or below the level 1 (at or below a grade 6 equivalent). On that page (2023 numbers) the US is at 28% so that 54% statistic in the OP smells a bit.

The main difference between Ireland and the US is that we’re only 5% below level 1 where the US is at 12%.

For reference, Portugal has 15% below level 1.

Here’s the definition of level 1:

Here’s the relevant graph with all levels in picture format but you can get the individual numbers by going to the page and hovering over the individual levels.

Japan and the Nordics crushing it to nobody’s surprise.

Ah yeah. I’m Irish and I don’t blame modern folks over there for it. I know it was the ruling class but damn were they cold AF. To be fair though there were lots of acts of brutality from British soldiers over the centuries who I have to guess were working class. Well beyond just “following orders”.

We do remember the acts of kindness at the time, especially the Choctaw as I mentioned in another comment. Just goes to show it’s nice to be nice. You will be eventually be forgiven the sins of your ancestors they you do bad things, but you will forever be remembered as kind if your ancestors do nice things.

The British didn’t cause the famine, they “just” made it worse.

This is absolutely false. They didn’t cause the potato blight but they absolutely caused the famine by forcing the export of the remaining food stock which was more than enough to feed the population.

We still have not reached pre-famine population levels after 180 years.

Hats off to the historical accuracy of this comment chain. Not sure how many of you are Irish but honestly it’s heartening. ❤️

We’ve stopped calling it the famine here and now it’s “the great hunger”.

Ireland was producing more than enough to feed itself but the British landlords were forcing the export of non-potatoes and leaving us to die.

The queen at the time politically shamed the Turks into reducing their aid to us because it was higher than hers.

What’s up, Turkey? We haven’t forgotten your generosity.

Massive, massive shout out to our Choctaw brothers and sisters in America who gave what they didn’t have after the trail of tears.

For those not familiar, we have never, ever forgotten that one.

Sculpture in Cork called “kindred spirits”:

Don’t start your car tomorrow

(I jest of course).

For us foreigners, 6th grade is around 10 / 11 years old?

Our taste in movies would be a perfect match. Grab some popcorn and a bucket of wine and let’s get this marathon started, baby. Plus, I haven’t seen any of the movies I haven’t seen. Ideal.

That’s lovely :)

Wow. That’s a good one.

*shite

For those not familiar with it - Bottler in this context means someone who chickens out.

This is so good that I sent it on to my mother.

I mean…If you either need or should have it then… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯…sure? (genuinely hope you’re OK though. If not and you need to talk then hit me up.)

The touching grass part is up to you though. It’s just outside.

Oh I hope I don’t judge you or anyone else that I come across based on how they look and I am absolutely certain there are many that are like me.

Mr or Mrs monster. Love yourself. I deep down mean it.

Fuck yo’ genes.

That was the last time I think anyone has ever stood up for me.

Sorry to hear that. Do you mind me asking if you’re in a big city?

Very nice of the lady though!

Story time - When I was a kid you had to get condoms through a family planning clinic or by crossing a border and many chose the latter. It was gone by the time I became old enough for it to be an issue for me.

Thankfully I live in the same country where there would immediately be government ending riots if there was any attempt to ban any form of birth control. Hell, the cops wouldn’t even stop the riots, they’d probably join in.

I hadn’t considered that though in fairness. It’s just such a crazy notion.

Willful childlessness is such a hilarious concept. I’m rollin’ around here.

What are they gonna do? Check if you’re having unprotected sex sufficiently? Check how many miscarriages you’ve had? HAHAHAHAh. Fuckin’ donkeys.

edit: Small gubment.