Irish Famine (1740–1741)

Irish Famine (1740–1741)

The Irish Famine of 1740–1741 was perhaps of similar magnitude to the better-known Great Famine of 1845-1852. Unlike the famine of the 1840s, which was caused in part by a fungal infection in the potato crop, that of 1740-41 was due to extremely cold and then rainy weather in successive years, resulting in a series of poor harvests. Hunger compounded a range of fatal diseases. The cold and its effects extended across Europe, and it is now seen to be the last serious cold period at the end of the Little Ice Age of about 1400-1800.

There is no information available for the number of deaths caused by the famine; demographic information for the period is lacking, given the infrequent census taking of the 18th century, but in County Kerry some 15,000 'hearths' (households) were reduced to 11,000 by 1742.

Calculating the death rate for the famine of 1847-1849 has also proved difficult, notwithstanding the existence of census returns for 1841 and 1851. However, Irish historian Joe Lee has speculated from contemporary accounts, and information on other famines internationally of the period, that the death rate in 1740-41 was similar to that of the famine a century later, namely that ten percent of the population died. As there wasn't a massive wave of overseas emigration in 1740-41, it has largely been overlooked.

The year 1741, during which the famine was at its worst and mortality was greatest, was known in folk memory as the 'year of the slaughter' (or 'bliain an áir' in Irish).

See also

*List of famines
*Irish Famine (1879)

References

* David Dickson, "Arctic Ireland" (White Row Press, Dublin 1997).
* Joe Lee, "The Modernisation of Irish Society" (ISBN 0-7171-0567-9)
* Michael Drake, "The Irish Demographic Crisis of 1740-41", Historical Studies VI, T. W. Moody (ed.), Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1968.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Irish Famine (1879) — The Irish famine of 1879 was the last main Irish famine. Unlike the earlier Great Famines of 1740 1741 and 1845 1849 the 1879 famine (sometimes called the mini famine or An Gorta Beag) had relatively minimal effect, causing hunger rather than… …   Wikipedia

  • Irish diaspora — Emigrants Leave Ireland , engraving by Henry Doyle (1827–1892), from Mary Frances Cusack s Illustrated History of Ireland, 1868 …   Wikipedia

  • Irish famines — A famine is a phenomenon in which a large percentage of the population of a region or country are so undernourished that death by starvation becomes increasingly common. The term Irish famines may refer to:* Great Irish Famine (1740 1741) * Great …   Wikipedia

  • 1740 in Ireland — Events*Great Irish Famine (1740 1741)Births*7 April Armar Lowry Corry, 1st Earl Belmore, politician and High Sheriff (d.1802). *22 October Philip Francis, politician and pamphleteer (d.1818).Full date unknown*Richard Barrett, poet and United… …   Wikipedia

  • 1741 in Ireland — Events*Great Irish Famine (1740 1741)Births*4 October Edmond Malone, Shakespeare scholar and literary critic (d.1812). *11 October James Barry, painter (d.1806).Deaths*16 March Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Earl of Kerry, politician (b.1668) …   Wikipedia

  • Chronology of the Great Famine — Main article: Great Famine (Ireland) An 1849 depiction of Bridget O Donnell and her two children during the famine. The Chronology of the Great Famine (Irish: An Gorta Mór[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Hambruna irlandesa de 1740-41 — Uno o varios wikipedistas están trabajando actualmente en este artículo o sección. Es posible que a causa de ello haya lagunas de contenido o deficiencias de formato. Si quieres, puedes ayudar y editar, pero por favor: antes de realizar… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Great Famine (Ireland) — The Great Famine ( ga. An Gorta Mór [The term has appeared in the titles of numerous books on the event, as demonstrated by [http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=%22Gorta+Mo%CC%81r%22 =Search qt=results page this search on WorldCat] ] or ga. An… …   Wikipedia

  • Great Famine — can refer to multiple historical famines that are referred to as the Great Famine .*Great Famine of 1315 1317 Northern European famine of the 14th century. *Great India Famine 1344 1345 * Great Irish Famine (1740 1741) 18th century, called by… …   Wikipedia

  • Irish potato famine — Hungernde irische Familie in Carraroe, County Galway Die als Große Hungersnot, (engl. Great Famine, Irish potato famine oder irisch An Gorta Mór) in die Geschichte eingegangene Hungersnot zwischen 1845 und 1849 (bzw. 1851) war die Folge mehrerer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”