During the Victorian Era, there was much hatred and racism from British directed towards the Irish. Many factors contributed to this prejudice against the Irish. There where many Protestants in Britain who hated the Catholic religion which was mainly Irish. There where also various scientist who where fascinated by the study of physiognomy which added an element to racism to the hatred.
In nineteenth century, the majority of Irish people where Catholic. To many protestants the Roman religion is a highly irrational religion full of "child-like" love of ritual, emotion and ceremony which lead them to believe that Catholics followed there heart instead of there head. It also directed them to believe that the Irish people in acting "child-like" concluded that the Irish are closer to primitive early man.
In the 1860's one year after Charles Darwin's Origin of Species was published, debate rages amount scientist about the relationship between man and ape.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) at age 7. The painting ...
Luck of the Irish
English: Photograph of Charles DarwinAs a repercussion, British racists frequently made comparisons to Irish people and apes.
A new "science" called Phrenology argues that certain physical features such as formation of the jaw, structure of the skull, and facial angles, revealed the position of various races of the evolutionary scale. In the British opinion, Irish were viewed as way below themselves but just above the Africans.
The hatred of Catholics and the "science" of Phrenology all created tension and abomination of the Irish people. Britains refusal to aid the Irish in the great famine of 1845 put 1.5 million deaths due to starvation and disease on the head of England. British had allot of malice and racism towards the Irish people which lasted for many years.
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