Why did Ireland experience high rates of population growth in the years before the Famine?
Interesting question. It wasn’t just in Ireland, it was Britain as a whole. CAUSES OF POPULATION GROWTH the death rate began to fall rapidly (most of the time) while the birth rate remained constant. In 1831 the first cholera epidemic struck Britain; there was a subsequent epidemic in 1847-8. Cholera caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people but the dreadful living conditions in the towns and the poor working conditions had a more far-reaching effect on the death rates. there was an increase in the number of marriages per 1,000 population. The average age of marriage fell and since this meant that couples had more child-bearing years, the birth rate increased. until about 1870, children were an economic asset. Opportunities for child employment increased and children could work from an early age. It has been said that couples had large families so that they could send the children out to work and thus supplement the family income. Child employment was gradually restricted by fac
