24. The Depopulation of Ireland
The British also imposed work requirements on the indigent and starving Irish in need of relief. It backfired spectacularly because many were too debilitated by hunger to work. Additionally, many of those who managed to get some form of food relief was given cornmeal that Irish stomachs were unaccustomed to, and that was nutritionally deficient, anyhow.
As a result, over a million Irish starved to death during the Potato Famine, and another million were forced to emigrate, reducing Ireland’s population within a few years by a quarter. The famine became a watershed in the island’s history. It greatly altered its demographics, politics, and culture, and boosted Irish nationalism and republicanism in Ireland and among the Irish diaspora. The population continued to decline due to emigration in subsequent decades. By the time Ireland became independent in 1921, its population was only half of what it had been in the 1840s.