Honors Theses

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Completion

12-2023

Academic Year

2023-2024

Department

History & Political Science

Academic Major

History

Second Academic Major

Spanish

Faculty Advisor

Julie E. Harris, Ph.D.

Abstract

Famine is a huge problem for societies, even in the modern world. Throughout history, famine has reared its ugly head and brought about demographic and societal collapse. The Great Famine of 1315 Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, despite their differences, had similar underlying factors of land management and overpopulation paired with an environmental catalyst, and also show that governmental response has the potential to both cause and prevent a famine, but only if the scale of the problem is limited. They both examine the question of national identity and create a multitude of debates in later historiography. Although these two crises were separated by 500 years, they share geographic similarities as well as similar causative factors.

In terms of differences, however, the Great Famine was a continent wide catastrophe; nothing could have been done to prevent it. The Irish Famine, on the other hand, raises questions of preventability and concerns over culpability on the part of the British government. They also show how a disaster can shape identity. Despite the scale of the Great Famine, it has been paid relatively little attention in later scholarship, while in the same amount of time, the Potato Famine has moved through three historiographical camps. The Potato Famine has been formative in the Irish identity, especially later during the Troubles. It contributed to a narrative of oppression and subjugation felt by the Irish people at the hands of the English. Each of these famines wrought devastation on their respective societies and created some of the worst disasters in human history.

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