support families. 19 As the potato blight struck between 1845 and 1849, an estimated one
million died as a result of these practices, along with another million who emigrated. 20 This
was further worsened by policies by both landlords and the British government, with
continued export of cattle, and slow responses to alleviate the effects. The malicious
practices and negligence would go onto increase calls for nationalism and thus home rule for
Ireland. 21
Unlike Ireland, both Scotland and Wales saw greater economic opportunity under the
union. Looking at Wales, even before the Union with Ireland or Scotland, a separate Welsh
economy was limited if not non-existent, with England being the only viable market to sell
surplus on account of the sea restricting access. 22 Though even with industrialisation, Wales
stood to gain from the union it had with England, especially with regards to its involvement
in the Empire. Imperialism had a direct impact on the Welsh economy, as industries were
stimulated by the ventures of the British Empire. Heavy industries such as coal, copper and
iron developed as the British Empire expanded, which in turn produced many jobs, including
the administration of the Empire. 23 Scotland too benefitted from imperial exploits, with
parallels to the Jute industry in Dundee (imported from India) and with Glasgow self-
described as the ‘Second City of the Empire’. When considering the Scottish identity, it has
been said that Empire was the guise through which it asserted equal status, which helps to
explain why home rule in Scotland was limited throughout this period. 24 Chiefly, it can be
seen how the Union, and by extension the Empire, provided Scotland and Wales with
19 Edward Laxton, The Famine Ships: The Irish Exodus to America 1846-51 , (London: Bloomsbury, 1996), p. 21 20 Callum G. Brown and W. Hamish Fraser, Britain Since 1707 (Abingdon: Routledge, 2013), pp. 217-218 21 Brown and Fraser, pp. 218-219 22 Johnes, pp. 76-77 23 Johnes, pp. 86-87 24 Tom M. Devine, Scotland and the Union, 1707-2007 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), pp. 109- 110
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