The claim that the Ottoman Empire rescued Ireland during the famine of 1845–1852 is not historically accurate. While there were some instances of humanitarian aid from various sources during the Irish Potato Famine, there is no substantial evidence to suggest that the Ottoman Empire played a significant role in providing relief to Ireland during that period. The primary sources of aid came from within Ireland itself, as well as from other European countries and the United States.
Recently, there has been much talk on the internet and Islamic propaganda channels such as “Al Jazeera,” and other channels and websites that benefit from spreading ignorance and intellectual decay among people, about rumours aimed at whitewashing the image of the Ottoman Empire and the Islamic Caliphate, which achieved no accomplishment except invasion.
These rumours relate to what is known as the “Irish Famine 1845–1852,” which claimed the lives of approximately one million people due to the agricultural crop failure of potatoes caused by a plant disease called late blight. This epidemic destroyed hundreds of agricultural crops in Ireland, upon which its people heavily relied for food and trade.
“For 400 years, the Ottoman Empire occupied Arab and Islamic countries. It did not build a single university at all.”
As for the prevalent Ottoman/Islamic/Arab myth today concerning Sultan Abdulmejid I, there are three major lies that we will debunk in this article.
The first claim is that the Sultan intended to send a sum of £10,000 but withdrew because Queen Victoria only sent £2,000, and sending a higher amount would be considered a diplomatic insult. “As rumoured”..
The second claim is that Great Britain prevented aid from entering Ireland and closed the island with its navy.
The third claim is that the “compassionate humanitarian” Sultan, while millions were dying of hunger and being killed in wars and massive upheavals under his rule, “it is said” he sent three ships that broke the siege and delivered food aid to Irish cities, most notably the city of Drogheda, which adopted a crescent and star as its emblem to commemorate that act!… And that this aid saved Ireland from famine and certain death, “thanks to the magnificence and humanity” of the Ottoman Sultan!
But is this the truth? Absolutely not.
The truth behind this myth is obscured by massive propaganda from Arab and Turkish sources, and even Irish ones, attempting to tarnish Britain’s image in petty political manoeuvres that can be refuted with just a few hours of research and scrutiny.
The story was first introduced by Irish nationalists in 1851 and later evolved slightly to claim that the “Ottoman Sultan” sent aid when the British government did not, and it remained this way until “Charles Stewart Parnell”, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, toured the United States in 1880 to collect donations.
He further developed the story and introduced the three aforementioned lies in an attempt to demonise Britain and place it in a worse position than the Turkish/Ottoman Empire, which was known for its atrocities and massacres during that period. In reality, it demonises Britain more than it glorifies the artificial humanity of the Ottomans.
The first rumour: that “the Ottoman Sultan Abdulmejid I” intended to send £10,000 but withdrew and sent only £1,000 to avoid humiliating Queen Victoria, who had sent £2,000.
This is an extended falsehood from Parnell’s claims about Queen Victoria’s donation, where he alleged that she donated only £5, the same amount she gave to her dogs.
In reality, the Queen was the largest individual donor with £2,000, while her husband gave £500, and many relatives gave between £500 and £1,000 each, equivalent to millions today. The £5 falsehood remains widespread in Ireland, politically equivalent to millions for any Irish nationalist today. The truth at the time was that the Queen donated from her personal funds. Additionally, she ordered the collection of massive donations from all over the United Kingdom and beyond.
Hundreds of thousands of aids were collected from all over England. Kolkata alone sent £14,000 according to one record.
In addition to sending aid, many foreigners also contributed, invited by the Queen, and news of the famine was spread throughout Europe. Among the donors was Sultan Abdulmejid, who actually donated £1,000. This was the minimum value he could send as a solidarity and diplomatic gesture, similar to many other rulers at the time, and it was not unusual or outside international norms.
The idea that the Sultan intended to send a larger amount but refrained from doing so is a falsehood with no historical basis. In a valuable research paper presented by Welsh writer and researcher Mike Dash, he stated:
“The claim that the Sultan intended to grant £10,000 to the famine-stricken Irish, but was dissuaded by the English ambassador, Lord Cowley (Henry Wellesley), because Her Majesty the Queen, who had contributed only £1,000, would be upset if a foreigner donated a larger amount… is an incorrect statement for two reasons:
Firstly, the Queen donated £2,000 and encouraged everyone to donate any amount to relieve Ireland,
Secondly, Lord Cowley (Henry Wellesley) was the British ambassador to France for 15 years from 1847, and he never went to Turkey in his life. Therefore, he never met the Sultan, and this historical claim is invalid, with no evidence of the Sultan’s intention to send £10,000 at all.”
The second rumour: that Britain prevented aid from entering Ireland and closed the island with its navy. This is a clear falsehood that doesn’t require much to refute. During the famine, Britain followed a conservative economic policy regarding markets and trade, encouraging ships to enter Ireland and engage in trade on the island. This was an attempt by the British government to bring in as much food as possible to the island without disrupting or sabotaging British trade.
This policy was, of course, unsuccessful and ineffective in the short term, prompting the government to widely collect donations. If any foreign ships had actually arrived or attempted to arrive with relief supplies, it would have been recorded and documented regardless of whether or not it was mentioned by official British sources. However, there are no records or documentation whatsoever of relief ships, whether Turkish or non-Turkish, arriving. Historians and writers at the time recorded events of lesser importance than the arrival of relief ships, and they would have certainly recorded anything similar and preserved it in a manner that leaves no room for doubt.
The third rumour: that the Ottoman Sultan sent three ships carrying food aid to cities in Ireland, with Drogheda being the most important. This is far from any truth or historical fact and is just another propaganda lie.
Irish ports at that time recorded any ships entering and leaving, and there is no evidence of any Turkish relief ships in any of those coastal cities. However, let’s entertain the falsehood for a moment. The basic rumour mentions that the ships entered from the port of Drogheda and distributed food to the hungry despite the British blockade we’ve already refuted..
But the records of Drogheda port have been lost over time and destroyed! Therefore, official documents about the arrival of any foreign ships to that port are unavailable. However, official records are not the only source for any reputable historian. Welsh historian Mike Dash (mentioned in his previous research) took the trouble to search through Drogheda newspapers during the famine years. Read more
Reporting on ship movements and their cargoes was exceptionally important information for local traders, as it was widely published due to Britain’s open trade policy to solve the famine, as we mentioned earlier. Mike Dash’s research into Drogheda’s papers indicated that the arrival of any non-British ship was exceptional.
In fact, during the famine period, only three foreign ships were recorded in that port. Among them was a Prussian ship and two from provinces that were then part of the Ottoman Empire, both carrying food and agricultural products.
That’s all there is to it. However, those two ships that came from Turkish territories didn’t distribute their cargoes for free. On the contrary!! There were strong criticisms from local newspapers at the time that the food had been imported as a commercial venture. In other words, it was seen as a commercial exploitation of a starving market, where prices would skyrocket for a handful of wheat or a potato!
In 2006, adding to this farce, the President of Ireland, "Mary McAleese", embellished and exaggerated the rumour further during her visit to Turkey, promoting the previous lies and fabrications. She even claimed that “the city of Drogheda adopted the crescent and star as its emblem in honour of the Ottoman stance” that was originally fabricated. Read more
However, as soon as her trip ended, local historians debunked this falsehood, pointing out that the crescent and star had been part of Drogheda’s emblem since it received its charter from King John of England in the 13th century AD. This emblem had no connection whatsoever to legendary Turkish/Ottoman ships or the famine. here
Finally, this article is not meant to diminish or demean that donation. Rather, it aims to debunk the blind and empty glorification that serves the interests of Islamists today, who desperately seek to polish the image of their religion and glorify the atrocities of the Ottoman caliphate, which history testifies against, and against its black pages dripping with blood and terrorism “ 1 & 2 ”
Additional sources:
- Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland: The Kindness of Strangers by Christine Kinealy.
- Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World , by Niall Ferguson.
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