Beggars in the Irish streets.
Catholic
Papist
Jonathan Swift
Child labour
Absentee landlords
Ireland
Poverty in Ireland
Mercantilism
Low wages
Protestant
An economic belief that the purpose of good government is to protect trade, and that doing so is much more important than the rights of workers and poor people.
A writer born in Ireland in 1667, known primarily for his satirical narrative Gulliver's Travels.
An island which, in Jonathan Swift's time had been controlled by the English for almost 500 years.
Something that was considered a very good idea in Swift's time, and beneficial to the economy. The opposite of this, it was thought, would make workers lazy.
A type of Christian religion which split off from Catholicism in the 1500s. In Swift's time, Protestants were in power in England.
Literally, a follower of the Pope; a derogatory name for Catholics in Swift's time.
A condition which occurred primarily because of English ownership of Irish lands.
A situation caused by land reforms which allowed the land-owners to use farm land more efficiently, thus requiring fewer people working on the farms. They ended up in the cities, begging and starving.
A type of Christian religion which was dominant in Ireland in Swift's time.
These were people who owned farmland in Ireland, but never visited there. They charged such large rents that they were starving the poor tenant farmers in Ireland.
A practice which is thought of as terrible in our time, but was considered responsible in Swift's day. It was a way for the children of the poor to be useful to society.