Letter of Charles Trevelyan to Thomas Spring-Rice, Lord Mounteagle (1846)

Extraits

[...] This paternalistic and condescending perspective was common in British colonial discourse. Crises were often seen as opportunities for moral and social reform. In fact, it was less seen as humanitarian disasters. Question n°4 He argues that rather than providing aid directly. For him, the State's role should be strictly limited to market supervision and disorder prevention. This position highlights a strong belief in divine intervention and laissez-faire economics. It helps to justify the government's hesitancy to take significant action in the face of a humanitarian crisis. [...]

[...] Letter of Charles Trevelyan to Thomas Spring-Rice, Lord Mounteagle (1846) Question n°1 During the Great Irish Famine in October 1846, Charles Edward Trevelyan, wrote this letter to Lord Monteagle. Trevelyan, argues in favor of the British government's limited response. He-s stressing that although some emergency measures and grain purchases have been planned. The Irish landlords and society bear the main burden. He portrays the government as having acted rationally. He accuses the landowning classes of failing to manage their estates or support their tenants Question n°2 Trevelyan places the blame on the Irish landowners. [...]