The famine that wasn't? Ireland, 1799–1801

This paper re-examines the period of potential famine in Ireland between 1799 and 1801, reframing it as the “Famine that Wasn't.” Although successive harvest failures occurred during these years—back-to-back crop failures in 1799 and 1800—famine conditions did not follow. The study critically investigates how Ireland avoided mass starvation despite these climatic and agricultural challenges in a period better known for constitutional change, notably the Act of Union between Britain and Ireland which came into effect in January 1801. The broad conclusion reached is that while immediate food shortages and social distress were evident, famine was averted in 1800 and 1801 due to a combination of favourable political, ideological and social circumstances, timely state interventions, flexible relations of production, some scattered instances of organised philanthropy, and a widespread ethic of sharing. Acting in conjunction, these served to limit excess mortality. The Irish would not be so fortunate a half century later. Of theoretical interest to economists and economic anthropologists, the paper argues that in pre-industrial economies spikes in food prices may be poor indicators of the extent of distress and excess mortality.