ABSTRACT
This volume explores economic, social, and political dimensions of three catastrophic famines which struck mid-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Europe; the Irish Famine (An Gorta Mór ) of 1845–1850, the Finnish Famine (Suuret Nälkävuodet) of the 1860s and the Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) of 1932/1933.
In addition to providing new insights into these events on international, national and regional scales, this volume contributes to an increased comparative historiography in historical famine studies. The parallel studies presented in this book challenge and enhance established understandings of famine tragedies, including: famine causation and culpability; social and regional famine vulnerabilities; core–periphery relationships between nations and regions; degrees of national autonomy and self-sufficiency; as well as famine memory and identity.
Famines in European Economic History advocates that the impact and long-term consequences of famine for a nation should be understood in the context of evolving geopolitical relations that extend beyond its borders. Furthermore, regional structures within a nation can lead to unevenness in both the severity of the immediate famine crisis and the post-famine recovery.
This book will be of interest to those in the fields of economic history, European history and economic geography.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|80 pages
The Great Irish Famine [An Gorta Mór], 1845 to 1850
chapter 2|35 pages
Tracing ‘the march of the enemy’
chapter 3|14 pages
‘The Great British Famine of 1845 to 1850’?
part II|69 pages
Finnish Famine [Suuret Nälkävuodet], 1867 to 1868
chapter 5|21 pages
Feeding the famine
chapter 6|21 pages
‘The terrible visitation’: famine in Finland and Ireland, 1845 to 1868 1
part III|94 pages
Ukrainian Famine [Holodomor], 1932 to 1933