Nine Ships 1825, print
Artwork Details:
Comments:
In 1825, the British government sponsored the immigration of 2024 people from the southern counties of Ireland to the area of what is now called Peterborough, Ontario. These immigrants were chosen from the applications of 50,000 Irish people hoping to leave the dire circumstances of Catholic peasant life in Ireland for the hope of land and freedom in Canada.
They came on nine ships, which are listed in this artwork in the order that they sailed.
I've depicted their sailing route, out of Cobh Harbour, County Cork, around the southern tip of Ireland, up the west coast and across the Atlantic ocean towards the St. Lawrence River. It was fun painting all these little ships as they might have looked sailing in calmer waters along the coast and in the rough waters of the open sea. As one little boy said, while examining this painting closely at our sale in Douro, and pointing at one of the ships, "I wouldn't want to be on that ship! It's sinking!" Thankfully, none of the ships sank but there must have been some terrible times of fear for these Irish families during the weeks of the crossing, wondering if they would perish whenever storms raged.
We can only imagine how arduous the journey was for these families, who were forced to spend most of the time in the crowded hold of the ship. Many suffered terribly from sea sickness and fifteen people died during the crossing, having to be "buried" at sea. Several babies were also born on these ships. These poor mothers would have had very little privacy or comfort during their labours. Imagine the mixture of sorrow, pain and joy among these families, all endured for a better future.
In 1825, the British government sponsored the immigration of 2024 people from the southern counties of Ireland to the area of what is now called Peterborough, Ontario. These immigrants were chosen from the applications of 50,000 Irish people hoping to leave the dire circumstances of Catholic peasant life in Ireland for the hope of land and freedom in Canada.
They came on nine ships, which are listed in this artwork in the order that they sailed.
I've depicted their sailing route, out of Cobh Harbour, County Cork, around the southern tip of Ireland, up the west coast and across the Atlantic ocean towards the St. Lawrence River. It was fun painting all these little ships as they might have looked sailing in calmer waters along the coast and in the rough waters of the open sea. As one little boy said, while examining this painting closely at our sale in Douro, and pointing at one of the ships, "I wouldn't want to be on that ship! It's sinking!" Thankfully, none of the ships sank but there must have been some terrible times of fear for these Irish families during the weeks of the crossing, wondering if they would perish whenever storms raged.
We can only imagine how arduous the journey was for these families, who were forced to spend most of the time in the crowded hold of the ship. Many suffered terribly from sea sickness and fifteen people died during the crossing, having to be "buried" at sea. Several babies were also born on these ships. These poor mothers would have had very little privacy or comfort during their labours. Imagine the mixture of sorrow, pain and joy among these families, all endured for a better future.