Entrepreneur Philosophy

The majority of British officials in the 1840s adopted the entrepreneur philosophy, which supported a policy of non-intervention in the Irish plight. Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel was different . He showed compassion toward the Irish by making a move to repeal the Corn Laws, which had been put in place to protect British grain producers from the competition of foreign markets. Because of this hasty decision, Peel quickly lost the support of the British people and was forced to resign . The new Prime Minister, Lord John Russell, allowed assistant Charles Trevelyan to take complete control over all of the relief efforts in Ireland. Trevelyan believed that the Irish situation should be left to Providence. Claiming that it would be dangerous to let the Irish become dependent on other countries, he even took steps to close food consumers that were selling corn and to redirect shipments of corn that were already on their way to Ireland. A few relief programs were eventually implemented , such as soup kitchens and workhouses; however, these were poorly.