Politics & economics

National political movements were far away from the minds of the Irish tenant serfs. Their struggle was far more basic than that; it was one of finding enough to eat and some basic shelter. Most of the land was owned by rich English landlords, typically living far away some country seat in England. They never saw their tenants, and never had to confront the abject poverty most of them were subjected to. For the English landlord it was simply a matter of economics. If the produce of their lands could be sold at a better price, via exporting it to England, then it would be. If taxes on the landlord could be reduced by removing smaller tenancies, then those smaller tenants would be evicted. If sheep rearing generated a better income than harvesting, then crop producing tenants would likewise be removed. Small tenant farmers were expendable, and often seen as lesser value than the animals and crops they reared. For the Irish tenant farmer there was little choice. It was simply a case of making a decision to move now, or wait a little longer until they were forcibly evicted.