From Cork To America: The Irish Immigration

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sively, since land was scarce and potatoes were an intensive crop. By 1800, the white potato, imported in Europe by Spain in 1532, had taken root in Ireland and ninety percent of Irish society was dependent on the potato as their primary means of caloric intake and as an export. But in September of 1845 a fungus called ‘Phytophthora infestant’ infected and devastated Ireland’s potato crops. A large portion of the population died from disease or starvation, while a great number of the people fled the country, usually for the New World.
Many Irish landlords sent badly needed grain to England for profit, instead of retaining it for the poorer classes. Without crops or employment, the tenants could no longer pay rent, so many lost the land they lived on. The effect of this was multiplied by the fact that the English parliament was reluctant to send any food to Ireland. In 1846 one official declared: "there is no intention at all to import food for the use of the people of Ireland". For many, the only alternative to starvation, and the only option to eviction from their tenant's lands, was emigration. The British Government was the first to believe in emigration as the only possible solution, and the first to take actions against the Irish situation.
Irish Emigration began long before the Great Famine, a Passenger Act was already in effect, but in 1827 the British government repealed the Passenger Acts, which had greatly inflated the cost of fares. The same year, over 20,000 Irish took advantage of the cheaper rates. New, less stringent regulations were introduced in 1828 and in the following decade almost 400,000 Irish immigrated to North America. Moreover, in 1837 the British Government enacted the Irish Poor Laws that gave authority to Boards of Guardians to strike a poor rate (a form of local taxation). The money raised was used to take care of paupers in specially built workhouses. Eventually, it was accepted that ‘outdoor r...