OCR Specification focus:
‘Peel’s approach to land issues in Ireland, university reform, the crisis over Maynooth and the famine’
The relationship between Britain and Ireland during Peel’s premiership was complex, shaped by enduring land disputes, religious reform, and the devastating Great Famine.
Peel’s Approach to Land Issues in Ireland
Irish landholding in the early nineteenth century was characterised by absentee landlords, small tenant plots, and widespread poverty. The system relied on short-term leases and the conacre system, whereby tenants rented small plots annually at high rents to grow potatoes. This created insecurity and tied survival to the success of a single crop.
Peel’s government attempted to address land problems through limited reforms:
Land Drainage Act (1842): encouraged landlords to improve land by providing loans, though uptake was limited.
Encumbered Estates Act (1849): designed after Peel’s premiership but rooted in earlier proposals; allowed sale of bankrupt estates to new investors.
Conacre system: A landholding arrangement in which small plots were rented for short terms, usually one year, often at inflated rents, for potato cultivation.
Peel recognised the instability of this system but faced resistance from landlords and the political difficulty of pursuing major land reform while also managing wider crises. His limited measures were insufficient to resolve entrenched rural poverty.
The Maynooth Grant Crisis
Religion was central to Anglo-Irish tensions. Catholic emancipation in 1829 had removed many legal disabilities, yet tensions remained over the Anglican Church’s privileged status.
In 1845, Peel introduced the Maynooth Grant:
Maynooth College, near Dublin, trained Roman Catholic priests.
St Patrick’s College (Maynooth), the national Catholic seminary supported by the increased Maynooth Grant in 1845. The view of St Joseph’s Square conveys the institutional scale that made the policy politically contentious. Architecture is shown for context; no additional syllabus content is implied. Source
The annual government grant was increased from £9,000 to £26,000, with a one-off endowment of £30,000.
Peel’s intention was to strengthen the education of Catholic clergy, promoting loyalty and moderation.
The measure provoked fierce opposition:
Protestants saw it as a betrayal, claiming public money should not support Catholicism.
Many Tories rebelled, straining Peel’s relationship with his party.
Catholics, while welcoming the funds, remained dissatisfied as it did not resolve deeper inequalities in church-state relations.
Maynooth Grant: A government subsidy provided to Maynooth College for the training of Catholic priests, controversially increased by Peel in 1845.
This crisis illustrated Peel’s pragmatic approach to governing Ireland, attempting conciliation but alienating both Protestants and parts of his Conservative base.
The Great Famine (1845–1851)
The defining crisis of Peel’s Irish policy was the Great Famine, triggered by repeated failures of the potato crop due to phytophthora infestans (potato blight). As the staple diet of millions, the failure caused mass starvation.
“The Famine in Ireland: Funeral at Skibbereen” (Illustrated London News, 30 January 1847). The scene captures the acute mortality and distress in County Cork, grounding the crisis described in the notes. The engraving reflects the period’s reportage without adding analytical content beyond the syllabus. Source
Peel’s Immediate Response
Peel acted swiftly in 1845:
Secretly purchased £100,000 worth of Indian corn (‘Peel’s brimstone’) from the United States to provide emergency relief.
Established a Relief Commission to oversee distribution.
Encouraged the public works system, providing employment to purchase food rather than direct handouts.
Economic Principles and Limitations
Peel’s measures were shaped by laissez-faire economics, limiting intervention:
Corn distribution was carefully managed to avoid undermining local markets.
Relief was temporary and inadequate given the scale of the crisis.
Despite early efforts, famine deepened after 1846 when Peel was replaced by Lord John Russell’s Whig government, which more rigidly applied free-market orthodoxy.
Human Consequences
Death toll estimated at one million.
Mass emigration, particularly to North America, creating lasting demographic change.
Deepened hostility towards British rule, as many Irish saw the government’s relief as insufficient or indifferent.
Potato Blight: A fungal disease caused by phytophthora infestans that rapidly destroyed potato crops, leading to catastrophic famine in mid-nineteenth-century Ireland.
Peel’s initial interventions were notable compared to his successors, but his reliance on limited measures and unwillingness to tackle structural land issues left Ireland vulnerable.
Peel’s Legacy in Ireland
Peel’s policies in Ireland reflected a balance between pragmatism and caution:
On land, reforms were minimal, leaving the system of landlordism intact.
On religion, the Maynooth Grant represented a significant step toward acknowledging Catholic needs, but it destabilised his political standing.
On famine relief, Peel’s early measures showed initiative, but they fell far short of the unprecedented crisis.
Ultimately, Peel’s Irish policy demonstrated both his awareness of Ireland’s urgent problems and the political constraints that limited meaningful solutions. His efforts in land reform, the Maynooth Grant, and famine response left a mixed legacy of limited progress, deep controversy, and enduring Irish resentment.
FAQ
Many Protestants viewed the grant as state support for Catholicism, which they regarded as incompatible with Britain’s Protestant identity.
Opposition came particularly from the evangelical wing of the Church of England, who believed it undermined Protestant ascendancy. Pamphlets, petitions, and rallies were organised to denounce Peel, creating one of the most divisive religious debates of his premiership.
Most tenants held land on insecure, short leases, making long-term improvement impossible. Eviction for non-payment of rent was common.
Because holdings were so small, tenants relied almost entirely on the potato. When blight struck, tenants had no reserves or alternative crops. Landlords often continued to demand rent, further worsening hardship and driving many families into destitution or emigration.
Emigration became both a survival strategy and a long-term demographic shift.
During the famine, families pooled resources to send one member abroad, often to North America.
After 1845, entire communities left, leading to population decline of nearly 20% between 1841 and 1851.
Emigration helped spread Irish culture abroad but also deepened resentment towards Britain, as many emigrants blamed government neglect for their plight.
Peel’s Conservative government in 1845–46 adopted relatively interventionist policies for the time, including direct purchase of Indian corn and centralised Relief Commissions.
By contrast, Lord John Russell’s Whig government (after mid-1846) placed greater emphasis on free-market principles, closing food depots and relying heavily on local Poor Law structures. This shift reduced the state’s direct role in food supply and arguably worsened famine conditions.
The Relief Commission, set up in 1845, coordinated local committees tasked with distributing imported grain and managing public works.
Its significance lay in being the first structured government response to the crisis in Ireland. However, the Commission was limited by poor transport links, reliance on unpaid local elites, and the rapidly escalating scale of the famine, which soon outstripped its capacity.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
In which year did Peel introduce the Maynooth Grant, and what was its purpose?
Mark Scheme:
1 mark for identifying the year 1845.
1 mark for stating that it was intended to improve the training/education of Roman Catholic priests at Maynooth College.
Question 2 (6 marks)
Explain two measures introduced by Peel in response to the Great Famine, and assess how effective they were.
Mark Scheme:
Up to 2 marks for each measure correctly identified (maximum 4 marks). Examples include:
• Importing £100,000 worth of Indian corn from the United States.
• Establishing a Relief Commission.
• Encouraging the public works system.Up to 1 mark for each assessment of effectiveness (maximum 2 marks). For example:
• Indian corn helped in the short term but was inadequate for the scale of crisis.
• Relief Commission offered organisation but lacked sufficient resources.
• Public works provided employment but wages often insufficient to buy food.
