On the Coffin Ship

This book was received as an ARC by the publisher on NetGalley.

As a disclaimer, I had never before heard of the “coffin ship” before reading this book. I knew that emigration at sea was perilous in the 19th century, but I was unfamiliar with the storytelling and myth-making that surrounds it, especially among Irish-Americans. That being said, I am deeply interested in stories of immigration effectively from the mid-18th century to the present. With my desire to learn more about the process of immigration in mind, I decided to take a look at this book.

Cian McMahon’s The Coffin Ship is a study broken into five parts, based on specific aspects of the journey that Irish emigrants followed during the famine years. The first two chapters look at the process of emigration prior to embarking on a trans-Atlantic vessel. In chapter one, McMahon paints a picture of the planning and preparation that went into the choice and act of emigrating from Ireland. For many Irish, close contacts with people who had already voyaged to North America (or Australia), were crucial. These contacts shared information, tips, and more to aid Irish emigrants. In the second chapter, McMahon looks at the lives of emigrants immediately prior to embarkation, asking questions like “Who funded these trips?” “How did Irish individuals and families reach their ports of departure?” “How did they survive in the time between arrival and embarkation?” This was a particularly interesting chapter to me, especially in seeing the way that tickets were at times paid for by landlords, the British state, etc. However, the more taxing cost was not the actual ticket for emigration, but the costs that went into preparation—food, cooking utensils, bedding—and transit to the port. In addition to the ferry that many took to travel across the Irish Sea (ultimately with Liverpool as the destination), Wealthier Irish families were able to rely on trains, which by this point crisscrossed the British Isles, while more middling families often took taxi-carriages. However, the poorest were forced to walk a grueling distance. Moreover, a delayed departure could mean death for the poorest Irish, as they would be unable to support themselves while waiting.

The next two chapters deal with the subjects of life and death at sea. Most Irish immigrants lived in a large hold in the center of the ship, typically divided into three groups. On one end were unmarried men, on the other were unmarried women, and in the center were married couples and families. Victorian mores required strict separation between the sexes, and this was enforced by the very geography of the ship. On board, one of the greatest difficulties that healthy people faced was constant boredom—there was little for them to do, although many made mutual-benefit associations or worked on ship. Moreover, food rations were a bare minimum, forcing many individuals and families to develop groups that would work together to cook and clean more regularly. While the chapter of life at sea was rather tame, the chapter on death was bleak.

One of McMahon’s main purposes is to sift through the truth and legend of the “Coffin Ship,” which is remembered by many as a liminal space surrounded by death and destruction. While the number most widely thrown around is that 20% of Irish emigrants died on board, McMahon’s count places the statistic closer to 11% (which is still ludicrously high), with around 8% for adults and higher death rates for children. For context, 11% death rate is approximately the same as those who died on 19th century slave ships (although earlier centuries had a much higher death toll), as well as around the same toll of African immigrants crossing the Mediterranean by raft in the 21st century. Very few Irish immigrants died from shipwreck, which amounted to less than 0.5% of the total deaths. Instead, most lost their lives to disease, especially typhus. The cramped, humid quarters allowed disease to spread easily, killing countless people. Moreover, while 11% was the average death toll for these “coffin ships,” some exceptions had death tolls as high as 30%, 50%, or in one case nearly 60%! These numbers are absolutely ludicrous and imagining these conditions is a truly difficult task.

The last chapter essentially covers life after arriving in the United States—there isn’t a whole lot that’s new here, much of this material can be found in other histories of immigration, but it is still worth reading.

Although McMahon’s writing can be dense at times—it’s definitely written by an academic historian—the information is interesting enough that it is good for anyone interested in American immigration history, as well as those curious about the voyage that their ancestors took nearly two centuries ago. The beginning of the book situates it within larger historical literature and seeks to deflate numerous myths, it nevertheless takes the trials and tribulations of Irish immigrants seriously. Its largest weakness is its style of writing—great for an academic audience but it can be difficult for popular audiences. Although it was published by an academic press, I do believe that the publishers are looking for a wider audience (which is why it was on NetGalley), and the book does fall a little bit short on that front.