Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
1
Hunger on Trial: The Irish Potato Famine
Tragedy or Crime?
2
Irish Potato Famine Reliance on the potato as a source of nutrition
Can grow in “poor” soil and easily stored High in calories and nutrition 1845: The Blight: a fungus infects the potato crop 2 million starved 2 million emigrated
3
Hunger and Famine Famine is not really a natural phenomenon; it is a political and economic phenomenon. Food in the 19th century was a commodity- meaning it is distributed to those who pay for it. Today, “enough food is available to provide at least 4.3 pounds of food per person a day worldwide”, but about 852 million people in the world are hungry, and 16,000 children die of hunger-related illnesses every day in the world.
4
The Irish Most oppressed people in Western Europe.
Colonial exploitation also affected “white” Europeans* However, the British viewed the Irish as a completely separate and distinct race. The word “white” was not used to describe Europeans until the later 1800’s, due to imperialism. Europeans viewed non-Europeans as “others” and saw themselves as superior. Read Noel Ignatiev’s “How the Irish Became White”
5
The Irish Lived under British rule.
Mostly Catholic and poor (7 out of 8 people in Ireland were poor). Most land was owned by British Protestant landlords who did not even live in Ireland.
6
Hunger Guilt British landlords Irish tenant farmers
The Anglican Church The British government Political Economy of Colonial Capitalism Not a specific group of people, but rather a system of ownership, production, and distribution.
7
Your Task: Read your indictment, the charges against you, and your possible defenses. Create a defense for your group’s indictment. You can plead guilty, but have to accuse at least one other group. You can plead not guilty- but you have to accuse at least one other group. You must list evidence for your accusations and your defense. Jury Members: Read all roles for defendant groups, and prepare 3 questions for each of the defendant groups.
8
Reflection: Neither the potato nor nature are guilty.
Who holds a society’s wealth and power? What determines how resources are used? What human-created institutions are and behaviors are at the root of all suffering? Do we all share a “national interest”, or are we more stratified by things like race, class, gender, and/or immigration status? Remember that just like in Ireland 160 years ago, hunger is still rampant today- and it is not due to scarcity!
Similar presentations
© 2025 SlidePlayer.com. Inc.
All rights reserved.