Hopelessness of the Irish in Nineteenth Century England Essay -- Europ

Hopelessness of the Irish in Nineteenth Century England Throughout my research into the subject of the Irish in England's industrial north during the early nineteenth century, one fact became quite clear; contemporary writers' treatment of the Irish was both minimal and negative. I consulted many sources, Friedrich Engels, Leon Faucher, James Kay-Shuttleworth to name but a few and the reoccurring theme as pertaining to the Irish in all these works was mainly consistent; the Irish were a lazy, vulgar people prone to drinking and brawling. It was not until 1841 that Great Britain's government made its first attempt to count the number of Irish migrants in the Census of 1841. Data compiled from the actual census and other parliamentary sources at the time illuminate the fact that in 1841 and in the preceding years of this century, most migrants from Ireland were of the seasonal type. Typically, they would plant their potatoes in their mostly minuscule plots of land in May, travel to Great Britain for the summer months to partake of seasonal harvesting work and return in time for their own harvest. During this same time there were Irish who settled in Great Britain on a more permanent basis but they were outnumbered by their fellow countrymen who were strictly seasonal migrants. This latter group seemed quite successful in finding work in the agricultural districts of the industrial north, those parts of the country surrounding Manchester, Liverpool and the other great towns. After the Irish potato famine of 1822, the in flux of Irish into England grew and a large majority of these were seasonal migrants. These Irish were in great demand in the agricultural districts of England and in Labour Migration in England 1800-1850, Ar... ...ion of the Working Class in England Oxford University Press,1993. Faucher, Leon. Manchester in 1844. Frank Cass and Company Limited,1969. Gaskell, Elizabeth. Mary Barton. Penguin Group 1970,1985. Gaskell, Peter. The Manufacturing Population of England: Its Moral, Social. and Physical Condition and the Changes which have Arisen from the Use of Steam Machinery, with an Examination of Infant Labour. Baldwin & Cradock, 1833. Harris, Ruth-Ann M. The Nearest Place That Wasn't Ireland. Iowa University Press,1994. Jackson, John Archer. The Irish in Britain. Richard Clay and Company,1963. Kay-Shuttleworth, James. The Moral and Physical Condition of the Working Classes Employed in the Cotton Manufacture of Manchester. Frank Cass and Company Limited, 2nd ed. 1970. Redford, Arthur. Labour Migration in England 1800-1850. Manchester,1926 reprint,1964.