論十九世紀愛爾蘭經濟發展的困境

Study on the Dilemmas of Economic Development in Nineteenth Century Ireland

十九世紀愛爾蘭的經濟發展有許多困境，除了1847年的愛爾蘭大飢荒外，仍有許多基本面的議題影響愛爾蘭十九世紀經濟的發展，這些因素有根深蒂固的舊系統、也有些是屬於規劃不當的新制度。因為受到英國的殖民，基本上愛爾蘭的農業是以服務英國為主，且大多數的土地皆由英國後裔或是愛爾蘭裔的新教徒所控制，廣大的愛爾蘭人成為佃農階級，若遇財務不佳的英國地主，或是不知體貼佃農的地主，愛爾蘭人只能面對不斷高漲的地租努力工作。但是因為土地制度不佳，愛爾蘭當時也未規劃完善的產業發展遠景，以至於遇到天災或是人禍就會造成重大的衝擊。由於愛爾蘭的產業受控於英國當局，無法發展成健全的產業制度，這樣封閉的經濟體系注定無法承擔變化多端的外來因素，加上土地繼承制度規劃不善，原本是保護地主土地的完整性，到後來演變成無法釐清的土地所有權爭議，這些因素都限制了愛爾蘭十九世紀的經濟發展。

There are many dilemmas in Irish history in the nineteenth century regarding economic development. Beside the issue of the Great Famine in 1847, many factors impact the economic development in Ireland. Some old systems and mal-arrange policies make the economic performance worst in Ireland. As a colony, Ireland was forced to ''serve'' British government economically. Most of the lands were owned by British people or Irish Protestants. A great portion of Irish people were tenants or laborers. When facing the financial crisis, landlords would raise the rent to solve their own problems. Most tenants have no choices but to accept it. The Irish people did not have the right to control their economic environment because all the systems were run by British government. The complex land systems and land questions impeded Irish from creating a well environment for economic development.