this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2026
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It wasnt the british stealing their food.
It was the british stealing their land. Griwing food on it using them as indentured labour. Then forcing them to live, effectively, on the only crop that could supoort a family on a small plot. That crop just happened to fail.
Interestingly, the reason they had such small plots was that irish inherotance split all the parents possessions equally, dividing the wealth, making smaller plots. The british system, ut goes to the eldest, leading tonwealth hoarding.
Good info but one clarification about the inheritance - the division of the plots was part of the penal laws to erode catholic influence in the country. It was called the popery act and it meant that land was to be divided equally amongst all sons in the family unless one converted to protestantism in which case they were to inherit the lot. It was one of the many cruel ways the British colonial empire oppressed and attempted to erase the culture of the countries they occupied (in this case, Ireland) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popery_Act?wprov=sfla1
So it was the British stealing their food with extra steps.
Let's not sugarcoat things just because someone in charge made it perfectly legal.
Just replying to let you know you kinda fat-fingered a few keys here and there :3
Yeah, and then because they were fully reliant on a single crop to provide their food, when the potato blight reached Europe, the Irish were extra fucked.