Download The Great Famine was a period of mass starvation, disease and

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Tobi Momoh
Professor Richard Rosol
English 214
May 8, 2012
Famine Project
The Great Famine was a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration in
Ireland between 1845 and 1852. It was a devastating experience for the people in Ireland
and even other parts of the world. In an area where about one-third of the population was
dependent on the potato for food, the number of casualties was significantly high.
Although the failure of the potato crop is what caused many deaths, diseases inflicted
caused just as many, if not more, deaths.
The first sight of disease in Ireland was the infection of the potatoes. In
September 1845, a strange disease coined, “potato blight,” was first discovered in the
fields across Ireland. “The potatoes were black in color, rotten, and their leaves had
withered” (Edwards & Williams). Studies In Irish History went on to identify that during
the harvest season in 1845, this newfound disease destroyed about half of the potato crop.
Farmers began to plant even more potatoes the following spring, in hopes of fresh crops
and not having to suffer the same hardship. “However, by the time harvest had come in
Autumn (Fall) 1846, almost the entire crop had been wiped out” (Edwards & Williams).
Matters were only getting worst and the failure of the potato crop was only the beginning
of their problems.
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The question of what the main source of death during this time can have several
answers. On top of the infectious crops, starvation, or a combination of both, infectious
diseases were the biggest contributions to what people died from. These diseases came in
various multitudes and with different intensity. For starters, it should be identified that
starvation contributed to these infectious diseases. “It should be pointed out that recent
research has questioned the widely held assumption that malnutrition inevitably leads to
increased susceptibility to infection” (Dirks). When the body is deprived of food and
proteins, disease is assured. Scurvy in Ireland during the Great Famine identified scurvy
to be one of the deadly diseases as a result of starvation. “Irish diets had always been rich
in Vitamin C thanks to the potato; as diets changed after the blight, scurvy made an
unexpected appearance in Ireland” (Crawford). Scurvy is a disease resulting from a
deficiency of vitamin C. “The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived
from the Latin name of scurvy, ‘scorbutus’” (Crosta). The lack of potato consumption led
to the insufficiency of vitamin C and began to inflict damage at a rapid rate. “Some
symptoms of scurvy include appetite, loss, poor weight gain, diarrhea, rapid breathing,
fever, irritability, tenderness and discomfort in legs, swelling over long bones, bleeding,
and feelings of paralysis” (Crosta). Crosta’s article went on to identify death as a result in
the late stages of scurvy.
Scurvy was only one of the common diseases that the Irish suffered from “The
most common diseases in Ireland during the famine years were typhus, cholera, dysentery
and scurvy” (Cronin, 260). A study in Famine Disease and Famine Mortality lists fever
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accounting for 20.56% of deaths in Mayo. Medical History of the Famine recognized
Mayo as one of the worst afflicted regions of Ireland in 1841. The study listed starvation
only being responsible for 4.82% deaths in Mayo. Fever was clearly a more significant
factor in the death toll than actual starvation. Typhus was known as “ship’s fever”
(Matton). The people leaving Ireland were already suffering from poverty and famine.
Ships that were unfit for human transport contained individuals jumbled together in what
were known as “coffin ships” (Edwards) which made the disease spread at an incredible
rate. The Great Famine; Studies in Irish History exposed the captains for intentionally
overcrowding their ships to get more fare. Infectious Disease in History: The Fever Sheds
stated that these ships were traveling across the Atlantic towards Quebec. “The French
Canadians in Quebec are known for adopting the many Irish Catholic orphans whose
parents perished before they reached North America” (Matton). Not only was disease
spreading at a rapid rate in Ireland, but the destinations these ships were arriving to were
also victim.
A disease known as ophthalmia also affected the Irish according to Dearth, Diet
and Disease in Ireland. “Late in 1849, the Irish Poor Law Commissioners became greatly
alarmed by an epidemic of what was described as ophthalmia prevailing in some
workhouses” (Crawford, 155-156). Ophthalmia is a disease that inflames the eye. Dearth,
Diet and Disease in Ireland blamed the dirty and overcrowded conditions within the
workhouses to be the cause of the spreading disease. Authorities were so concerned of
this newfound disease and required investigations to be done. “So great was the concern
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of the authorities at the scale of the epidemic that the Poor Law Commissioners asked
Arthur Jacob, Professor of Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons, and Sir William
Wilde, a leading Dublin ophthalmic surgeon, to investigate the epidemic” (Crawford,
156). The study showed that the number of cases doubled in number over the years. The
total number of cases in workhouses was 13,812 in 1849, 27,200 in 1850 and 45,947 by
1851. This study goes to show how quickly disease spread during the famine. One of the
surgeons identified children to be vulnerable to the disease than adults. “Wilde, too,
noted that children were by far the more vulnerable to attack, and those with obvious
marks of starvation were also more susceptible” (Crawford, 156). Children were unable
to withstand the harsh conditions at the time and were easy targets. The small bodies of
the children effortlessly succumbed to any disease. Further studies were done to figure
out why the children contracted the disease more than adults. Studies went on to discover
that the children suffered from another eye disease.
Adults possess sufficient supplies for their health and can withstand a decent
amount of diseases naturally. Children on the other hand have smaller reserves, which
can be quickly depleting and more vulnerable to disease. “The high incidence among
children is an important diagnostic point in the disease, xerophthalmia, and it raises the
possibility that some of those children were victims not of ophthalmia but of the
nutritional deficiency disease, xerophthalmia” (Crawford, 157). According to PubMed
Health, xerophthalmia is a disease in the eye that is caused when the eye is unable to
maintain a healthy layer of tears to coat it. Xerophthalmia is also known as the “dry eye
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syndrome” (PubMed Health). Wilde’s study noted that the lack of the fat-soluble vitamin
A in the diet was the cause of this disease. The study stated foods rich in vitamin A
included fish liver oils, such as cod-liver oil, and red palm oil. Other foods that could
have been suitable sources of vitamin A were liver, butter, cream, cheese, whole milk,
and egg yolk. Unfortunate for them, there wasn’t enough food available for consumption,
yet alone foods containing this vitamin. “Insufficiency or lack of vitamin A over a
prolonged period leads to xerophthalmia, a damaging eye condition, which, if untreated,
results in blindness” (Crawford, 157). The Irish diet lacked many foods containing
vitamin A to begin with and the famished conditions strengthened the likelihood of this
deficiency.
Diseases of the digestive system were also a problem people suffered. People’s
digestive system suffered due to the decline in food quality. “As food supply declines in
quantity, desperate people slid down the quality ladder, falling back on items that would
normally not be eaten: seaweeds, diseased and spoiled foods, and wild plants” (Mokyr &
Gráda). Without their main food source, alternative foods had to be consumed. Some of
which were not the best choices for human consumption. According to Famine Disease
and Famine Mortality, there was evidence that famished people in Ireland ate
decomposing carrion as well as nettles, carrageen moss, and corn-weed. Such substances
can brutally attack the digestive system and cause an array of diseases, which could
become fatal. Other digestive diseases identified were due to changes in consumption of
“unfamiliar emergency foods” (Mokyr & Gráda). These emergency foods were imported
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from overseas to assist the famished Irish. Famine Disease and Famine Mortality
highlighted Indian corn as the most notorious of the unfamiliar foods. “Contemporary
reports described the diseases suffered by people from consuming unfamiliar and
improperly prepared foods from Indian meal” (Mokyr & Gráda). The diet of the Irish
was too unfamiliar and unprepared for the consumption of international food in the
absence of their main potato crop. The Irish were too used to consuming potatoes so the
introduction of a new type of food did not settle right with them.
Infectious diseases due to a migrating population also contributed. The famine
caused people to leave their homes in search of food. According to Famine Disease and
Famine Mortality, mobility increased mortality for two reasons. “One is that it exposes
both the famine refugees and their hosts to new disease environments and microbial
regimes to which they are not immune” (Mokyr & Gráda). These migrating families
were easy targets in new environments where unknown diseases existed. Their bodies
were not prepared for new conditions they were to face since it was unfamiliar territory.
“The other is that hygienic and sanitary needs depended on certain fixed items” (Mokyr
& Gráda). The certain fixed items referred to included laundry facilities, cooking
utensils, and other sanitary arrangements. Activities normally performed in the household
with these sanitary items had to be completed outside of the home with the absence of
them. The famine made hygiene difficult to maintain and obtain. The diseases contracted
outside of the home coined the term “road fever” (Mokyr & Gráda).
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A large reason for people migrating was not only to search for food but eviction
by landlords. Tenants farmers who lost their crops were disabled from acquiring the
necessities to acquire rent, yet alone pay it. They were forced to leave their homes by
resident and absentee landlords. However, there were instances of landlord’s giving their
tenants some leeway. “According to the same eyewitness, ‘Only one landlord in the
whole locality… did anything to save the people…. He asked no rent for two years, and
he never afterwards insisted on the rent for those two years’” (Gallagher, 40). Paddy’s
Lament shared a handful of authorities that sympathized with people being evicted.
Those kicked out of their homes were left to perish on the roadside. The homes that were
being evacuated were just being destroyed, making conditions even worse for everyone.
These individuals were known as “Irish home wreckers” (Callagher). With these home
wreckers on the prowl, evictions were “so commonplace,” “so methodical,” and “so
legally impossible to prevent” (Gallagher, 49).
People traveled long distances in search of food and a lot of them did so without
water. Death by dehydration was also a factor since many people failed to replace fluids
in the body. With all the decaying bodies, there was also a lack of proper disposal of a
large number of dead bodies. As heavily into religion as the Irish were, the proper burial
of a dead body was very important. “But in an environment of numerous deaths, such
procedures could not be followed” (Cronin, 260). This made for even more unsanitary
measures. According to Irish Histories for Dummies, bodies were found in cabins, on the
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fields, and on the roadsides. Rats and dogs were known for feasting on the decaying
bodies out in the open. Bodies had to be placed in large trenches.
It can be assumed that a large reason as to why there were high death rates during
the Irish famine was because of the lack of knowledge about infectious diseases. “The
problem can be laid out starkly by noting that Famine kills through poverty and
ignorance” (Mokyr & Gráda). On one side, when people have to revert to extreme
measures because of poverty in order to survive, they will meet their death no matter how
much they know about the cause of disease. On the other side, even people who are well
fed are at risk if they are not aware of how to avoid contagion. “In between, there is a
more complex area in which people are aware to some extent of the modes of infection
but do not get it quite right, or are too poor or too weak to avoid them” (Mokyr &
Gráda). In often cases, individuals will die at rapid rates if faced with this challenge.
When infectious disease begins to spread, it is difficult to hinder when one cannot
provide the necessary means for prevention.
The victims nor authorizes were able to properly distinguish why microorganisms were the reason for high death rates over hunger and exposure until the 1880s,
according to Famine Disease and Famine Mortality. “Their ignorance of the exact nature
of what it was that was killing most famine victims is a crucial element in determining
the demographic impact of past famines”(Mokyr & Gráda). During a time of crisis, the
most basic understanding of the mechanisms of infection can be of great importance in
preventing or limiting massive death rates. Unfortunately for the Irish, any basic
understanding was nonexistent in the 1840s. How much difference would better
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knowledge have made? The statistics provided in the Famine Disease and Famine
Mortality study might suggest that more knowledge might have made a considerable
difference even if it would not have prevented mass deaths. The study stated that at least
one-third of all famine deaths were caused by various diseases, which might have been
avoided if people understood the nature of exactly what made them ill. “Typhus and
relapsing fever were transmitted by the human louse, and while avoiding lice would have
become more difficult in the desperate uprooted populations gathering in poor houses,
relief works and food depots, it stands to reason that had people only known how
dangerous lice were, that efforts could have been made to slow down the epidemic”
(Geary, 50). In an attempt to prevent death by dehydration, if people were aware of basic
facts on the importance of replacing fluids they could have boiled water and let it cool
down before consuming. But again, neither patients nor doctors had this knowledge.
The poor were not the only ones to suffer. Higher-ranking individuals were not by
any means immune to contracting a disease because of their social class. “At greatest risk
were people such as clergymen, relief workers, and medical practitioners, whose work
involved frequent contact with the diseased” (McArthur). It only made sense that those
who worked closely with the sick would ultimately be afflicted by the same diseases. As
explained before, they were not fully knowledgeable on how to prevent or cure most
diseases. And even if they were knowledgeable on some diseases, there couldn’t have
been enough resources to save everyone at the accelerated rate that they were pouring in.
“In Ireland as a whole nearly two hundred doctors and medical students died in 1847,
three times the pre-famine average” (McArthur). A better understanding of how the
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diseases transmitted and the need for necessary hygienic resources, they along with many
others could have been saved. Most of Ireland had very few doctors to begin with. As
previously recognized as one of the worst afflicted regions of Ireland, there was a total
count of 37 physicians and 28 surgeons in Mayo. In other words, there was one medical
practitioner for every six thousand people. So to go along with the low quality of medical
expertise these people were faced with, there was a lack of medical personal. Religious
figures also suffered. “Catholic and Protestant clergymen also died in large number”
(Kerr). These diseases saw no social class or person with stature. Any and everyone was
a victim.
If it wasn’t bad enough that people were dying of starvation because of the
decline of their main crop, disease also struck and increased the rate in which people
were dying. Diseases accounted for a higher number in the death total because of the
many different types. There were diseases that were passed by human contact, diseases
caused by malnutrition and the consumption of substitute food. With all the diseases
spreading, the medical personnel could not be of much assistance since there was a small
number compared to the growing number of patients. Not only were the medical staff
outnumbered but they lacked the necessary information to intervene. There just wasn’t
enough that could have been done to slow down the rate in mortality during the Irish
famine.
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Works Cited
Crawford, Margaret. Dearth, Diet and Disease In Ireland, 1850: A Case Study of
Nutritional Deficiency. Med History. 28, April 1984; (2): 151–161.
Cronin, Mike. “Succumbing to Disease.” Irish History for Dummies. England: John
Wiley & Sons, 2006. Print.
Crosta, Peter. “What Is Scurvy? What Causes Scurvy?” Medical News Today. 30 June
2009, Web. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155758.php
Dirks, Robert. “Famine and Disease” in Kenneth F. Kiple 1993 edition of The Cambridge
World History of Human Disease. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
pp.157-63.
Edwards, Robert D. and Williams, Thomas D. "The Great Famine: Studies in Irish
History 1845-52", Lilliput Press, 1956 (reprinted 1997).
Gallagher, Thomas. “The Doomed Country.” Paddy’s Lament. New York: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich, 1982. pp. 44-56
Geary, Laurence M. “The Late Disastrous Epidemic: Medical Relief and the Great
Famine” (1996) in Chris Morash and Richard Hayes Fearful Realities: New
Perspectives on the Famine. Dublin: Irish Academic Press.
Gráda, Cormac Ó. “The Great Famine and Other Famines.” Famine 150:
Commemorative Lecture Series. Dublin: Teagasc, 1997. pp. 129-57
Kerr, Donal. The Catholic Church and the Famine. Dublin: Columba Press, 1996.
Matton, Kayla. “Infectious Disease in History: The Fever Sheds.” Canaduceus, Blogspot:
7 Feb 2011. Web.
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McArthur, William P. “Medical History of the Famine.” In Robert D. Edwards and
Thomas D. Williams, The Great Famine: Studies In Irish History 184552. Bristol: Lilliput Press; 1956. p. 279.
Mokyr, Joel. “The Deadly Fungus: An Econometric Investigation Into The Short-Term
Demographic Impact Of The Irish Famine, 1846-51.” Research In Population
Economics, Vol. 2, 1980. pp. 429-59
Mokyr, Joel and Gráda, Cormac Ó. Famine Disease and Famine Mortality: Lessons from
Ireland, 1845-185. Departments of Economics and History, Northwestern
University. Department of Economics, University College; Dublin. 30 June 1999.
Print.