1845 Ireland

Question: What is the difference between a famine and a hunger?

One of the best debates in class I ever had was this question, Ireland 1845-1851 was it famine or hunger? It's most commonly known as the Great Famine, but once my professor posed the question, I've never really been able to settle the answer in my mind. So, I don't intend to win you over to one side or the other, I just thought you might want in on the debate.

There are a few facts to consider first: the blight of course, the governing bodies, and the realities of life of the common Irish farmer. None of these are straight forward facts, they each have such depth that I dare not try to define them completely in this little post. Like I said, I'm just getting you in the conversation. 

Easy facts: In 1847, the "worst year of the famine," just under 190,000 head of cattle were exported from Ireland. While people are living off boiled potatoes and cow's blood, the country is still exporting livestock. At the start of the 1840's a family of six is living on just over 30 pounds of potatoes a day. It's mixed in with various foods but I'm not giving you a recipe book.

Difficult Facts: The English government did attempt to provide aid, but it was a bit like having your younger sibling plan your ninth birthday party. The party is all about them and you end up with disappointing presents. They sent American corn to Ireland with high expectations and disappointing results. In 1849 the Rate-in-Aid Act moved the burden of the relief funds to the Irish landlords. Presumably the population that could afford it. However, we all know that "it" runs down hill so the few land holding farmers left who were already indebted to their lords, were now expected to "contribute" to their own relief.

So here it is, if a famine assumes a certain amount of natural disaster, a lack of control over results (written accounts of the smell of the rotten potatoes fields) and a hunger assumes a lack of funds to purchase available food stuffs, (Ireland was still shipping livestock to England in 1849 despite the thousands starving), what do you call the period from 1845 to 1851?



Stat's 
Population in 1845 -8.5 million. Population in 1851-2 million. 3 million people died of starvation, most of the rest fled the county. With the massive immigration went the Irish culture leaving Ireland governed by a non-native government and lacking most of it's "common" people.


Best Textbooks I've read on Ireland: 
Cronin, Mike. A History of Ireland. New York: Palgrave, 2001.  (best overview of Ireland)
O'Dowd, Mary. A History of Women in Ireland, 1500-1800. NYC: Longman, 2004. (best one on one presepective)