NEWFOUNDLAND POTATO FAMINE
'Forty-six, on "the Rock", things got dire:
St. John's shops wrecked by storms after fire.
Fishing outports' spud-fields,
With reliable yields,
Saw their crop turn to blighted black mire.
The next year, nature failed them the same;
Ships from Cork, bearing starving kin, came.
Some rich folks knew the reason:
The Almighty, displeasin',
Judged the indolent poor were to blame.
Their "coffin-ships" stopped, then passed by
To the St. Lawrence ports, where they'd try
To survive quarantine
(U.S. neighbours were mean);
Many, gripped by "ship fever", would die.
Dr G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, 2023
Authors' Note: The Irish potato famine of 1845-1852, had important repercussions in British North America. Initially, we had our own version of the disaster, although it didn't last as long. The food-production aspect was confined to the Atlantic island of Newfoundland ("the Rock"), where potato monoculture had provided backup food for a populace (ironically, one-half of Irish descent) who otherwise fed themselves on marine protein (seals and cod). But in 1846, both these usual sources failed, and the network for regional food distribution was disrupted by a large fire, then a storm, that lashed the key port of St John's. At just this point, the potato blight that had spread northwards through the United States was found to involve the fishing villages (outports) on the island's south shore. In the second year, the blight spread to involve the entire island, and the marine resource situation was no better. The number of deaths due to starvation, likely many thousands, remains unknown.
The British governor of the colony, reasoning that the indolence of the island's underclass had offended the Almighty, invoked a period of fasting to appease heavenly powers. Fortunately, the next year, the marine resources returned, resolving the crisis.
Back in Ireland, landlords took advantage, and bought tickets to encourage resourceless tenants to emigrate; they were welcomed to Canadian colonies and territories by the public, by charities, and by local governments, often despite low potential for contribution to the economy. Many refugees were sick ("ship's fever" often equated to dysentery or typhus) on arrival or shortly afterward, with a major effect on hospital services; in the summer of 1847, an estimated 20,000 died in typhus epidemics that ravaged Montreal and Quebec, as well as settlements in New Brunswick and Ontario.
In contrast, the U.S. populace may have felt less charitable towards British disaster-victims, and a punitive tax was levied on shipping companies for each passenger. Although large numbers of Irish refugees did eventually reach the U.S., Canada bore far more than its share, especially in the acute phase of the disaster.
The author acknowledges inspiration by speedysnail's OEDILF verse "Great Famine". Online References:
Great Famine (Ireland) - Wikipedia
Newfoundland Potato Famine - Wikipedia
History of Irish immigration to Canada - Irish Post
