La emigración irlandesa decimonónica tras la gran hambruna, parte intrínseca del carácter irlandés

Abstract

Resumen: A lo largo de la historia han tenido lugar episodios de grandes crisis que transformarian irremediablemente la vida de millones de personas. Uno de estos acontecimientos fue la gran hambruna producida en Irlanda entre 1845 y 1851, uno de los eventos mas tragicos de nuestra historia contemporanea que dejaria profundas huellas en su poblacion. Uno de sus efectos mas graves fue la oleada migratoria sin precedentes que llevo a numerosos irlandeses especialmente hasta las costas norteamericanas. Este articulo pretende, por tanto, estudiar la migracion irlandesa producida por la gran hambruna y las caracteristicas especiales que mostro y que la hizo distinguirse del resto de olas migratorias europeas decimononicas. La «nueva Irlanda» que se conformaria en lugares como Estados Unidos nunca perderia su vinculo con la isla y dejaria un legado imborrable en ciudades como Nueva York y Chicago. Abstract: Throughout history there have been episodes of major crisis which would inexorably transform the lives of millions. One of such events was the Great Famine that took place in Ireland between 1845 and 1851, which was one of the most tragic events in our contemporary history and which would leave important marks on its population. The great unprecedented migration wave which led countless Irish people, especially towards the North American coasts, was one of its gravest effects. The aim of this article, therefore, is to explore the Irish migration induced by this Great Famine and the special characteristics that it showed and that made it distinguishable from the rest of the migration waves from nineteenth-century Europe. The “new Ireland” which developed in places such as the United States would never lose its bond with the island and would leave an indelible legacy in cities like New York and Chicago.