Cynthia E. Smith: The Land-Tenure System in Ireland: A Fatal Regime
● Between 1.5 million and 3 million people died during the Great Famine in
Ireland
● Over 1 million people emigrated from Ireland to North America, and even more
emigrated to Great Britain
● The land structure in Ireland contributed greatly to the fatality rate by
exacerbating the famine.
● Landlords were often absentees living in England, allowing them to charge
extortionate prices that forced farming tenants off of the land that they relied
upon.
○ These landlords also divided their estates to maximise profits, meaning
there were few farms large enough to withstand the pressures of a
famine. This harmed production levels.
○ High rents meant that tenants had less opportunity to diversify, as they
chose to focus on a reliable crop that had already proven itself capable
of paying rent: the potato. This led to an overreliance on the potato
which would be disastrous once the famine hit.
How The Social Structure of Pre-Famine Ireland Contributed to the Crisis
● Ireland was heavily dependent on agricultural production.
○ "Ireland has always been and seems destined to remain a land of
agriculture."- Pomfret
○ A lack of industry meant that Ireland would suffer greatly economically
when its agricultural sector was virtually demolished.
○ In 1841, only 28.3% of the Irish workforce was employed in industry.
○ Reliance on agriculture meant that the "possession of a piece of land
was literally the difference between life and death."- Woodham-Smith
● Ireland was also experiencing rapid population growth at this time, which
would place extreme pressure on resources during the Famine years.
○ The Irish population almost doubled between 1791 and 1841, reaching
over 8 million people prior to the Famine
, ○ All of these people needed land to survive, and they needed this land to
succeed agriculturally because of their lack of industry.
● During the 17th Century, vast amounts of Irish land were seized by the English,
who seized over 3 million acres of land in Ireland.
○ This allowed the English to control Irish land through the landlord
system in the 19th century, letting it out to English “middlemen” who
would subdivide the land for rent by Irish tenant farmers.
○ This allowed absentee English landowners to prosper, whilst the Irish
were left with insufficient land at astronomical prices.
● Tenants were easily exploited as they often had no lease, allowing landlords
to evict them at will
○ They lacked legal protection, heightening animosity between tenants
and landlords
● The population boom increased demand for land, driving up prices. As a
result, landlords were evicting tenants with little to no notice to find others
willing to pay higher rents. This made land unaffordable by the time of the
famine, so farmers couldn’t risk diversifying their crop portfolio using the little
land that they had. This was especially true as this land had to be saved for
their children’s inheritance. Since the birth rate was high, this inheritance led
to further subdivision of land.
● Throughout Irish history (even prior to English intervention), political and
military conflict prevented farmers and landlords from investing in the land
(eg. by removing stones or purchasing fertiliser), inhibiting production.
● Since many tenants had no leases in 19th century Ireland, they couldn’t plan
for long-term use of the land
○ As a result, tenants didn’t invest to improve the quality of the land and,
by extension, local/national agricultural practice.
○ “No incentive to invest”- Smith
○ This was worsened by the fact that tenants received no compensation
for improvements that they had made when they left or were evicted
from the land.