You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Did they ever go fishing during the potato famine?
- Thread starter Scythe
- Start date
imported_Naz F
New member
They DID go fishing. As much as they were able to. 'Fishing' is a logical step in times of famine, and there is absolutely no reason they would not have tried it, to the best of their resources.
Several factors would have stood in their way, however. First of all, fishing from the shore is not highly productive. Second, most farmers would have lived a long distance from the sea, or from convenient lakes and rivers--Many of which were state-owned or owned by landlords, which made them inaccesible. This left, as the only possibility, learning how to get out on a ship and go fishing; which is not easy to do. (If you've never gone fishing before, ask anyone who's done so.) It's something that requires a fair amount of skill. And then, they would be in competition for fish with all the other highly-skilled fishermen.
Finally, it must be noted that 'food security' is something that belongs to modern times. Until the 19th century (or possibly later) famine was a regular event in Europe, occurring every 5-10 years.
(Which is one reason why, if you walk into a historic graveyard, you'll find many deaths of people who are very young.) Europe was not able to cure previous famines with fishing; nor could it by this means cure the Potato famine.
Several factors would have stood in their way, however. First of all, fishing from the shore is not highly productive. Second, most farmers would have lived a long distance from the sea, or from convenient lakes and rivers--Many of which were state-owned or owned by landlords, which made them inaccesible. This left, as the only possibility, learning how to get out on a ship and go fishing; which is not easy to do. (If you've never gone fishing before, ask anyone who's done so.) It's something that requires a fair amount of skill. And then, they would be in competition for fish with all the other highly-skilled fishermen.
Finally, it must be noted that 'food security' is something that belongs to modern times. Until the 19th century (or possibly later) famine was a regular event in Europe, occurring every 5-10 years.
(Which is one reason why, if you walk into a historic graveyard, you'll find many deaths of people who are very young.) Europe was not able to cure previous famines with fishing; nor could it by this means cure the Potato famine.
Comicbook Reader
New member
That's an interesting question.
Ireland was so dependent on the potato that it neglected the fishing industry. It was called "backwards and inadequate." While the people who lived right on the coast did eat fish, there really wasn't a good industry set up to do any large scale fishing in Ireland at the time.
The fishing equipment was not very good (called primitive by one scholar), no large scale rail network to quickly transfer the fish inland, no setup to do large scale preservation (salting), boats used were pretty poor for this as well.
Ireland was so dependent on the potato that it neglected the fishing industry. It was called "backwards and inadequate." While the people who lived right on the coast did eat fish, there really wasn't a good industry set up to do any large scale fishing in Ireland at the time.
The fishing equipment was not very good (called primitive by one scholar), no large scale rail network to quickly transfer the fish inland, no setup to do large scale preservation (salting), boats used were pretty poor for this as well.
They no doubt ate some fish, but while Ireland is an island and fairly small, it is still often far from the sea or the rivers, like the Shannon. They had no refrigeration in those days, and really probably no ice in Ireland, or very little, no high mountains, so fish had to either be cooked and eaten soon after it was caught or dried in some way (I don't know if they eat dried fish in Ireland). So if there was any distance fish might not have been good.
Also it was not just that individuals didn't have potatoes. Potatoes was the staple crop and basis of their diet and the economy. They also had sheep and so could have eaten mutton, but potatoes were their made staple. When they had no potatoes to sell, it would be worse than if the corn crop failed in Iowa or Illinois or the wheat crop in Kansas. They might have other crops to fall back on, they had very little to fall back on (Maybe cabbage, they ate cabbage, but it was not the made crop)
Also it was not just that individuals didn't have potatoes. Potatoes was the staple crop and basis of their diet and the economy. They also had sheep and so could have eaten mutton, but potatoes were their made staple. When they had no potatoes to sell, it would be worse than if the corn crop failed in Iowa or Illinois or the wheat crop in Kansas. They might have other crops to fall back on, they had very little to fall back on (Maybe cabbage, they ate cabbage, but it was not the made crop)