A Modest ProposalMr. Christopher Ojeda

Jonathan SwiftBorn on November 30, 1667, Irish

author, clergyman and satirist Jonathan Swift grew up fatherless. Under the care of his uncle, he received a bachelor's degree from Trinity College and then worked as a statesman's assistant. Eventually, he became dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. Most of his writings were published under pseudonyms. He best remembered for his 1728 book Gulliver's Travels.

Ireland and the Potato The potato was the principal source of

nutrition for the vast majority of the poorer classes because this crop produced more food per acre than wheat and could also be used to generate income. The practice of Land Division meant that peasants needed to produce the biggest crop possible. The most variety of potato was the ‘Aran Banner’ which, whilst producing high yields also was very susceptible to blight.

Many farmers had a few animals; the pig, easily fed on left-overs and requiring little space, was quite common. In many cases, however, other crops and animals were used to pay the rent and were never regarded as food.

Tough times were usual in IrelandThe arrival of the month of June

indicated the start of the hungry or meal months in rural Ireland as new potatoes were not dug until August. People simply had nothing to eat or at best could manage a meal of porridge. Hunger was commonplace and small scale famines were therefore not unknown.

Dependence on the potatoThe potato became the staple diet of

much of the country during the early 1800s as it was ideally suited to the Irish climate, could be grown even in poor soils, gave a high return per acre and a single acre could support a family of 5–6 people.

By 1845, it is estimated that about one third of the entire population was totally dependent on the potato, and in poor regions, like Mayo, it was the only food eaten by up to nine tenths of the population.

How does the potato get infected?Potato and tomato blight is a

disease caused by the fungus-like organism Phytophthora infestans which spreads rapidly in the foliage of potatoes and tomatoes causing collapse and decay. The disease spreads most readily during periods of warm and humid weather with rain.

What is Laissez Faire?

The policy of ‘Laissez Faire’ (meaning to leave alone) meant that Governments did not interfere in business markets or the economy in general. This policy was disastrous when famine struck as it meant that there was no way of quickly rectifying the crisis. Scarce food became costly and the poor simply starved.

Over populationWhile the population of Europe

rose throughout the 19th century, population growth in Ireland was particularly dramatic. In 1800, the population was about 5 million. By 1841, it had risen to over 8 million according to the census of that year. This growth can be explained by the fact that people married early in life and they tended to have large families.

Why did Swift write this?Jonathan Swift wrote “A Modest Proposal” to

call attention to abuses inflicted on Irish Catholics by well-to-do English Protestants. Swift himself was a Protestant, but he was also a native of Ireland, having been born in Dublin of English parents. He believed England was exploiting and oppressing Ireland.  .......Many Irishmen worked farms owned by Englishmen who charged high rents—so high that the Irish were frequently unable to pay them. Consequently, many Irish farming families continually lived on the edge of starvation. 

In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift satirizes the English landlords with outrageous humor, proposing that Irish infants be sold as food at age one, when they are plump and healthy, to give the Irish a new source of income and the English a new food product to bolster their economy and eliminate a social problem

He says his proposal, if adopted, would also result in a reduction in the number of Catholics in Ireland, since most Irish infants—almost all of whom were baptized Catholic—would end up in stews and other dishes instead of growing up to go to Catholic churches. Here, he is satirizing the prejudice of Protestants toward Catholics. 

Differences between Catholics and Protestants1. The Pope. Catholics have a Pope,

which they consider a vicar for Christ — an infallible stand-in, that heads the Church. Protestants believe no human is infallible and Jesus alone heads up the Church.

2.  Big , Fancy Cathedrals. Catholics have them; Protestants don’t. Why? Catholicism says that “humanity must discover its unity and salvation” within a church. Protestants say all Christians can be saved, regardless of church membership.

3. Saints. Catholics pray to saints (holy dead people) in addition to God and Jesus. Protestants acknowledge saints, but don’t pray to them.

4.  Holy Water. Catholics only.5. Celibacy and

Nuns. Catholics only.

6. Purgatory: Catholics only.7. Scripture: The be-all, end-all

for Protestants is “the Word of God.” For Catholics, tradition is just important as scripture — maybe even more so.

8. Catechism: Protestant kids memorize the Bible. Catholic kids get catechism.

9. Authori-tay: In Catholicism, only the Roman Catholic Church has authority to interpret the Bible. Protestants hold that each individual has authority to interpret the Bible.

10. Sacraments: Catholic are the only ones to have the concept of the seven sacraments (baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony). Protestants teach that salvation is attained through faith alone.

11. Holidays: Catholics have 10 Holy Days of Obligation (which mean they must go to Mass). Protestants are more like, “Just come to church on Christmas, that’s all we ask.”

12. Communion: In Catholicism, the bread and wine “become” the body and blood of Jesus Christ, meaning that Jesus is truly present on the altar. In Protestantism, the bread and wine are symbolic.

Swift’s modest proposalThe Modest Proposal begins by

describing the very real poverty of people in Ireland. Swift presents this quite sympathetically but sets out facts and details, showing that there is a “surplus” of children who cannot be fed. He considers the possibility of selling the children into slavery, but objects to this - not because it is cruel or wrong, but because no-one will buy children below twelve years of age. 

This means that there is a long period in which the children cannot be fed, because their parents are too poor, but are too small and weak to be sold into work. Next he digresses to make the shocking claim that, according to an American whom he knows, a healthy child at one year old is:

“a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome Food, whether Stewed, Roasted, Baked or Boyled”

(From this beginning, Swift proceeds to develop his scheme by breeding children for food.)

Cannibalism in IrelandOne documented report involved a John Connolly in

the West of Ireland who came before the court on theft charges,In the course of the prosecution, it emerged that the family were in such desperate straits that his wife had eaten some of the flesh off the leg of the dead body of her son.

Another case of cannibalism was reported in The Times on May 23rd 1849. In Mayo, a starving man was reported to have “extracted the heart and liver...[of] a shipwrecked human body…cast on shore”.