A discussion on the effects of the great famines in India on disease and mortality rates and the contributions and responsibilities of Britain as a parent country.
Abstract The paper starts with a summary of conditions in pre-colonial India and continues through to the birth of the public health sector in 19th century England. It then discusses the effects of drought on India and the results of the great famines on both agriculture and industry, looking at the responsibility of Britain in terms of preventing disaster via prevention and aid strategies and their ultimate failure in both areas. The spread of disease, in particular cholera is explored and again, Britain's contribution in this area is discussed.
From the Paper "The colonisation of India was, for the British, the proverbial jewel in the crown, a new land of vast resources, unsystematic government and an animal-like people who, at best, were a cheap source of labour. But as the drought of 1876 decimated the population in a famine as cruel as any the Europeans had experienced, it became apparent that the British government would need to take steps to prevent a repeat of the devastating mortality rates produced by such a phenomenon. A certain responsibility to their precious colony would have to be shown."
Abstract This paper is a literature review on research into the effects of drought stress on potatoes. The paper shows how drought stress can cause trauma to the plant organism and cause changes in the way the plant develops. It examines whether that plant can reproduce effectively and pass on certain desired traits to the next generation. This raises concerns about how crops fare from one season to the next.
From the Paper "The effect of drought stress on the vegetative and reproductive traits of the potato has been studied to find ways to improve the crop and to prevent damage. Drought stress is clearly brought on by periods of drought, causing trauma to the plant organism and causing changes in the way the plant develops and in whether that plant can reproduce effectively and pass on certain desired traits to the next generation. This raises concerns about how crops fare from one season to the next, as is noted by one analyst from Montana State University: High-quality potato yields can be achieved only by maintaining a uniformly high level of available water throughout the crop season."
Abstract This paper examines the hidden famine of 1958-1962 in China and argues that it was the result of Mao's 'great leap forward' error of trying to collectivize agriculture while attending to industrialization, bogus Soviet advice, the Communist failure to respond to what was obviously severe famine, and disaster's social imprint. The famine showed the timelessness of rural/urban networks, rumour, subversive sentiment, and government cover-up and failure. The famine's gravity was hidden from the outside world till the late 70s, though 40 million Chinese had died.
From the Paper "In 1958-1961, and the succeeding year, millions of Chinese died in a severe famine created by the Great Leap Forwards and made worse by Beijing's failure to respond. Effort was made to hide the famine from urban Chinese and the world, despite signs that all was not well in the countryside. Between the spring of 1959 and December of 1961, at least 30 million starved to death with the rate of births per annum not returning to previous levels till the mid-1960s."
Abstract The paper shows how Malthus believed that famine was the natural mechanism that reduced a population whenever the number of individuals in a particular area exceeded the carrying capacity of the land. The paper explains, however, that famine is a direct result of increased agricultural production. The more food we produce, the more people are born, leaving the problem of overpopulation and famine for subsequent generations.
From the Paper ""Population has this constant tendency to increase beyond the means of subsistence ... the ultimate check to population appears then to be a want of food." (Thomas Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population, pages 2-6.) Thomas Malthus, when he originally wrote those words way back in 1798, believed that unchecked population growth will ultimately be arrested by one of three factors: emigration, disease, and famine (Manning, 2004: 81). Of the three of those factors, it is apparent from the above quote that Malthus believed famine to be the final and ultimate solution to rapid population growth. In the two centuries since Malthus made himself famous - or infamous depending on one's perspective - the man and his ideas have been the brunt of exceeding criticism from the scientific and non-scientific communities. The reason is simple.
Abstract The paper explains that the only authority in Somalia are local warlords with no internationally recognized government. The paper describes the terrible conditions in Somalia of longstanding drought and high infant mortality rate that have only been exacerbated by the ongoing political turmoil. The paper relates that starving Somalis can try to leave and become refugees in a foreign land. Yet, the warlords and clan leaders want their starving citizens to stay and it is difficult to get past the roaming militias. The paper concludes that for the time being, Somalia appears to be destined to remain on its current, tumultuous path.
From the Paper "Somalia is a coastal nation in eastern Africa. Somalia has been much in the news in the past decade, mainly for its ongoing famines and civil wars. In the mid-1990s, U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton sent peacekeeping troops to Somalia to try to stabilize the situation there and to get much needed food to starving people (since most food aid previously sent had been intercepted by warlords). This peacekeeping mission did not go well, due to the lawlessness in Somalia, and U.S. troops were forced to withdraw. Somalia continues to be a nation in a state of chaos and struggle, with no immediate relief in sight. The current prospects for Somalia's future are uncertain."
Abstract This paper takes a look at the Great Irish Famine and explains the extensive personal suffering endured by the civilians. It provides a political background and events leading up to the famine as well as demographic, social and political consequences thereof.
From the paper:
"In researching this topic, I discovered that the Great Famine in Ireland was identified by several designations: the Irish Potato Famine, the Great Hunger, the Great Famine, and the Great Starvation. Although its title cannot depict the true nature of the suffering, the language used to describe this period will vary by the speaker. For example, those who describe the famine with innocuous images often refer to it as the Irish Potato Famine. This title brings to mind weather, nature, and blight, the result of acts of God. The Great Hunger and The Great Famine conjures a more realistic perception of suffering and death. However, some refer to it as The Great Starvation to convey the belief that the Irish suffered and starved in the midst of surplus; that the famine was a ?symbol of the exploitation of a whole nation by its oppressors.?"
Abstract Sociologists have from time to time attempted to define famine by highlighting one or more aspects of this multi-sided phenomenon. Most definitions usually emphasize only some of the attributes of famine, such as scarcity of food, or persistent starvation, while others tend to concentrate on the social, political or economic reasons that have led to widespread famine in particular regions at a given time. The paper argues that definitions which attempt to describe famine as "severe shortage of food" or "food shortage leading to widespread death from starvation" or "regional failure of food production and/or distribution" overlook the fact that famine may be chronic undernourishment leading to malnutrition that is sometimes exacerbated by a particularly poor crop yield or by other social conditions or political reasons that render foodstuffs inaccessible to a portion of a country's population. The paper shows, furthermore, that these definitions totally ignore the fact that famine may even occur within a region which has a sufficient food supply that is unevenly distributed, or a particular region where international aid is regularly sent and misappropriated by a small coterie which is usually appointed by local government.
From the Paper "It is also necessary that western aid should intensify not simply in the form of food provision when death decimates the population of countries due to sudden drops in the availability of food, but also by providing the technical knowledge and frameworks for the building of factories that will produce a steady tonnage of nitrogen fertilizers that will increase the local crop yields. Distribution and accessibility of staple foodstuffs is at present inadequate and in some cases steadily in decline."
Abstract This paper argues the thesis that, while there does exist evidence supporting the contention that the Ukrainian famine must be understood in terms of the Soviet regime's policy of collectivization, nonetheless Stalin bears primary personal responsibility for the famine. The paper then attempts to demonstrate that the famine was a consequence of two distinct policy directives of the Soviet leadership under Stalin with regards to the famine: the total collectivization of agriculture as an element of the modernization plans of the Soviet Union and use of terror as a weapon to control unsettled and potentially rebellious populations and groups.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Historical Debate
The Failed Policy Theory
The Famine of Terror - Stalin's Famine in a Larger Context
Conclusion
From the Paper "It should be noted that historians disagree with Ellman on this point, and argue that the mass deportation plan was abandoned not because Stalin saw Famine as being more efficient, but because "of the unwillingness and inability of the regional authorities to assimilate such a large number of people" (Davies and Wheatcroft 630). However, a critical reader would note that this objection does not actually contradict Ellman's argument. It is undeniable that Stalin and the Soviet leadership decided to abandon the mass deportation policy at this time. However, Ellman's primary contention - that the existence of the mass deportation policy as an example of Stalin's intention to use Terror as a political weapon on a large-scale against the population of the Ukraine, occurring immediately before the Famine itself, leads to the logical conclusion that the Famine was, at least in part, an attempt to achieve the political end that Stalin was unable to achieve with mass deportation - remains fundamentally unchallenged."
Abstract This thesis discusses the role of food in world famines and delineates how the occurrence of famine has changed with time. Special emphasis is given to various precipitating factors- such as the specific role of certain foods and crops, weather, insects, pollution, ergotism, plague, politics and government- and how they contributed to each instance of famine. For the purpose of clarity, this subject is presented chronologically, first in respect to Ancient Egypt and then to Medieval Europe. Religious, mythical, as well as scientific based causative factors are delineated throughout this chronological narrative.
Introduction
Body of Paper
Egyptian Famines European Famines Discussion
Conclusion
From the Paper "Famine, or drastic food shortage, has plagued man since time immemorial, causing violent hunger, starvation, disease, and death. Wikipidia.com defines famine as "a phenomenon in which a large percentage of a region or country is undernourished and death by starvation becomes increasingly common" (Wikipidia, 2005). When famine does not kill, it overwhelms its hunger stricken survivors. Survivors, in their desperate attempts to acquire food, have been known to resort to robbing, killing, infanticide, and even cannibalism. Historically, when ancient man had no scientific explanation as to famine's cause, he searched for answers by turning to and seeking solace in myths, folklore, and spirituality. In time, famine made its way into the myths and folklore of various cultures. For example, the ancient Greeks believed that famine was one of the three evils, along with war and pestilence, contained within Pandora's Box, and unleashed onto mankind, once opened (Rodney, 2002). This dreaded phenomenon has been so prevalent throughout history, one need not search far in order to find numerous references to it in literature. Most notably, perhaps, famine is represented in the New Testament as one of the "Four Horseman of the Apocalypse." Thus, while ancient man may not have understood famine's causative factors, he certainly felt the general havoc, death, and destruction left in its wake."
Abstract The paper utilizes Amartya Sen's entitlement approach to famine as an explanation of the famine during China's Great Leap Forward. The paper argues that the primary reasons for this famine were the fundamental problems in central planning policy, together with structural inadequacies of the government system of the People's Republic of China in the 1950s.
Outline:
Introduction
The Great Leap Forward
Famine - The Theoretical Literature
Famine as a Crisis in Central Planning
The Relevance of the Sen Model
Conclusion
From the Paper "In order to understand the famine in China in the late 1950s it is first necessary to understand the political, social and economic context that gave rise to the famine in the first place. With the establishment of the People's Republic of China under a Communist government in 1949, centuries-old traditions of agricultural production and economics were been revised at all levels of Chinese society."
"After 1949 China embarked on a series of Five-Year Plans that were designed to reestablish China's industrial capabilities and increase agricultural production. The shaping of these plans led to considerable political disagreement within the leadership of the People's Republic. The architects of the first of these plans - particularly Chen Yun and Zhou Enlai - believed that material incentives would lead to gradual increases in grain and industrial production (Spence 1990, 575). However, such "gradualism" ran contrary to paramount leader Mao Zedong's "heroic" vision of revolution as "continuing struggle" (Spence 1990, 596)."
Tags: food, availability, entitlements, collectivization, agriculture, Five, Year, Plans, Sen
Abstract This paper discusses the Russian famines of 1921 and 1931 and explores why the famine of 1921 received massive world wide assistance while the one in 1931 did not. The paper looks at "Harvest of Sorrow" by Robert Conquest who maintains that the famine was a deliberate strategy of Stalin in order to gain control over the farmers. The paper then looks at R.W. Davies and Stephen Wheatcroft's "The Years of Hunger" where the authors claim that it was embarrassing for Stalin to admit that his agricultural plan was failing. The paper concludes therefore, that Stalin's inability to seek aid in 1931 was either because of his pride or because he designed his agricultural program with famine as its specific result.
From the Paper "Harvest of Sorrow by Robert Conquest does have an anti-communist tone throughout the book. Conquest listed the Ukrainian famine of 1931-1933 as intentional, caused by Stalin as a way of dealing with the rebellious province of Ukraine, and to shift the Soviet Union to a path if intense industrialization . Robert Conquest's primary focus throughout the book is that the famine should not simply be seen as a tragedy, but as an avoidable situation brought about by Stalin. Famine as a tactic of control was discovered by Stalin, by accident according to Robert Conquest, in how they dealt with Kazakhstan . Stalin and his cronies denied the existence of any famine within the borders of the Soviet Union; whether out of pride or malice this denied his people the ability to call for aid for the outside world."
An examination of the role of the British government, society and economics in bringing about and dealing with the Great Irish Famine of 1845-1849 and its consequences.
Abstract This paper discusses the Great Irish Famine of 1845-1849 which stemmed from a then unknown fungus disease, phytophtora infestans, which ruined most of the Irish potato crops in 1845 and 1846. It looks at how British policy toward the relief of the misery and suffering caused by the potato blights was hamstrung by a rigid, narrow and basically inhuman economic doctrine which served the interests of the governing classes in Great Britain at the expense of the starving and diseased masses of Ireland afflicted as a result of the Famine.
Outline
Introduction and Summary Conclusions
Development of the Potato Monoculture and Obstacles to Reform
Peel's Response to the Famine, 1845-46
Failures of the Whigs after Mid-1846
British Society and Irish Relief
Upper and Middle Class Arrogance and Indifference
Overall Assessment
Conclusion
From the Paper "The first potato blight which struck the harvest of 1845 caught political leaders and government officials by surprise because previous potato crop failures had been localized, and, according to Percival, "the potato crop had never failed for two years running" (42). Ireland had been relatively prosperous in the late 18th century. It benefitted from the strong demand and high prices for agricultural products during the Napoleonic wars. However, according to Whelan, after 1815, "agricultural prices halved" and "the linen industry was dislocated by the advent of factory-spinning and weaving" (25). Almost all of Ireland other than Ulster remained agricultural. In 1801, Parliament at Westminster destroyed the last vestige of Irish autonomy by abolishing the Irish Parliament under the Act of Union. "
Abstract This paper compares and contrasts the Utilitarian and Kantian ethical views of famine relief and then defends Singer's claims. The writer, first, lays out a spectrum of the amount of aid that is thought to be appropriate, and then places Kantians and Utilitarians on this scale. It examines Singer's approach and defends Singer from critics; relates Utilitarian and Kantian ethics on famine relief to the issues of whether there's a distinction between killing and letting die and to the Doctrine of Double Effect, taking the side that one should in fact recognize the associated effects of one's actions; provides a related reason why Singer's more moderate claim can be held as opposed to his stronger claim; and, finally, defends large-scale famine relief from "more practical than philosophical" problems.
From the Paper "To the question of how much one ought give to help famine relief efforts, let us say there are four possible general answers. 1) One could give everything one has; 2) one could give what I?ll call ?all one can*?, different from giving everything one has in that it is only giving to the level of marginal utility, leaving some amount for other pressing concerns; 3) one could give some amount less than all one can* but above nothing; or, 4) one could give nothing. Practically speaking, few would want to hold to the belief that one should give everything one has. It is also the case that few hold the belief that one should give nothing, keeping in mind that "that one should give nothing" is not the same as "that one is not obliged to give anything"; the first says that one morally must not give anything, whereas by the second one may morally give something but it is not required. Many Kantians would hold that one is not obliged to give anything, but that it is good, nonetheless, to be to some degree beneficent in some area. So, generally speaking, most people fall between (2) and (3) in their belief as to the level of aid one ought give to famine relief efforts, with Utilitarians like Singer on the (2) side and Kantians more on the (3) side."
This paper looks at the policies introduced to solve the Irish Famine by Robert Peel and Lord Russell 1845-47. This paper looks closely at all the policies introduced and concludes as to whether they worked or failed.
2,365 words (approx. 9.5 pages), 4 sources, 2001, $ 72.95
Abstract This essay looks at the policies implemented by Robert Peel and Lord Russell during the first years of the Irish famine. The author examines the differences between the two policies and comments on whether they were the right policies to solve the problem of the potato blight and the onset of famine. This essay covers the period of 1845 ? 1847.
From the Paper "If there were a big difference in the policies of the two governments then it would have to be over the issue of grain and food supply to the people. It was Peel who bought ?100,000 of Indian Corn to put into the Irish market in order to keep food prices down, the Russell government sold its grain at market prices in order to keep the merchants and traders happy. It did keep a control on the access to the grain depots, but it was more aware and responsive to the growing problems, the Peel government was more sympathetic towards the plight of the people. It is regarded by historians that the Robert Peel government came out of the famine crisis rather better than expected, unfortunately for Lord Russell's Whig government it increased the expectation on them. So maybe fortune favored Peel, in that he started off at the beginning of the famine, when things hadn?t got as bad as they would under the Whig government."
Abstract This paper examines the conflicting opinions surrounding the Potato Famine that destroyed Ireland's crop in the 1840's. Some issues that are discussed are: who is to blame for the catastrophe, what could have done to prevent it and just how many people were killed in the famine.
From the Paper "In the 1840's, a fungus, Phytophthora infestans but commonly known as the blight, attacked and destroyed most of Ireland's potato crop. That is about the only fact that scholars and citizens alike agree upon. Ever since these events, debates have raged over nearly every aspect of the tragedy. One issue, albeit a small one, is what to call the events of the 40's. The hottest battle, as is so often the case, is over who is to blame. Most theories revolve around the British, and range from claims of incompetence to outright accusations of genocide. More modern views focus on the inefficient system of landownership and rampant overpopulation of Ireland. Beyond culpability, is the question of what could have been done to either avert the tragedy or to lessen the suffering of those involved. Even the actual number of people who died as a result of either starvation or related diseases remains a mystery to this day. Certainly, none of these questions have easy answers; however, it is important to examine conflicting points of view in order to develop a full picture of the "Great Hunger" and the people it has touched."
