This path was created by Derek James Rachel. The last update was by Erika Strandjord.
Destinations
“As soon as a party of emigrants arrive in Liverpool they are beset by a tribe of people, both male and female, who are known by the name of ‘mancatcher’ and ‘runner’. The business of these people is, in common parlance, to ‘fleece’ the emigrant, and to draw from his pocket, by fair means or foul, as much of his cash as he can be persuaded, inveigled, or bullied into parting with.”
- Christine Kinealy in This Great Calamity (301).
When the Irish emigrants reached their destination, it varied in their welcome. In some cases, the native population did not want the emigrants there and made it more difficult for them. United States, for example, passed Passenger Acts to curb the gigantic wave of emigrants arriving. The emigrants would travel to England, United States, Canada, or Australia. Above is a map showing the coffin ships that went from Ireland to England or North America and describes the statistics of ships leaving or arriving in these places.. However, it it important to note that it does not show a complete picture as it solely focuses on Britain and America. All of the destinations receiving the Irish accepted them differently and dealt with the consequences of admitting the sickly and famine-stricken victims. Explore this path and learn of the different destination of coffin ships during the famine years.