Cutting Business

O'Connell hoped to use peaceful petitioning to make the British understand that the lives of the Irish also mattered.

However, while this approach was grand in scale, it yielded little result—or, one might say, it received applause but failed to sell. Although O'Connell was convinced his actions would compel the British government to eventually grant Ireland autonomy.

In reality, the gentlemen in London cared nothing for the affairs on the Emerald Isle. Compared to it, the Indian Subcontinent, the new territories in South America, the Near East, the Far East, Africa, and even Oceania all seemed far more important.

Yet, to say that Britain had done nothing for Ireland over these years would be to wrong them. In fact, the British government had long interfered in Irish affairs, only doing so in a way that would not violate the theory of Free Trade.

Most British actions did not involve the economy, and the most significant measure among them was the "Poor Law." This was a "Poor Law" introduced in imitation of the British poorhouses (asylums).

This completely outdated operation was supported by landlords and the church, both of whom felt it was the best way to liberate people from the shackles of the land, while the factory owners who formulated it were even more delighted to see it happen.

The "Poor Law" divided Ireland into 130 Poor Law Unions. Each union established a workhouse to provide food and lodging for the poor, but required them to perform labor in exchange.

This seemed very similar to the "work-for-relief" programs popular in later generations, but there was a problem: the workhouses provided food and lodging, not money.

This did not improve the living conditions of the poor in the slightest; instead, it placed a heavy burden on local governments. For the sake